Look Not with the Eyes
by thrillerartist
Summary: Sight. It's one of our first senses that we become aware of. The eyes are the first parts of our bodies to develop when we're in the womb. From the first moment we open our eyes, we see things. The sky. The sun. The faces of our parents, our friends. Of our enemies. Whether we realize it or not, we rely on our eyes for everything...That is, until we no longer can.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN _RWBY_! **

**"Look Not With the Eyes" **

**By: thrillerartist. **

* * *

**Chapter 1: Vulnerable **

_Sight. It's one of our first senses that we become aware of. The eyes are the first parts of our bodies to develop when we're in the womb._

_From the first moment we open our eyes, we see things. _

_The sky._

_The sun._

_The faces of our parents, our friends._

_Of our enemies. _

_For the most part, we see things from the moment we're born; a__nd whether we realize it or not, we rely on our eyes for everything we do._

_That is, until we no longer can..._

* * *

**-Ruby-**

There was a chill in the dark air. Two fighters stood in front of each other, the grips on thier weapons so tight, Ruby could see thir knuckes turn white. They stared at each other, almost daring the other to take the first move.

Ruby stood behind her uncle, answering his questioning gaze as he raised a brow at the malicious insanity emanating from the enemy faunus.

"I don't know." Ruby answered, leaning on her scythe. Her muscles were exhaused, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins kept her alert and focused. "This guy's weird." Ruby finished.

Her Uncle Qrow huffed, turing to face the enemy again. He huffed, and said in his usual raspy voice, "Look pal, I'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave my niece alone."

"Why friend, my name is Tyrian. And I am afraid that is not possible. My assignment was to retrieve this young woman, soooo that is what I must do. One does not upset The Queen."

Ruby cocked an eyebrow at her uncle. "The Queen?" She asked.

"Salem," was the only answer her uncle gave.

"Who?" Ruby asked, now even more confused.

A malicious grin spread across Tyrian's face, and an insane glimmer lit up his dark eyes. "I think we've had enough talk, don't you?" He said, taking a fighting stance.

Qrow hefted his sword, saying "Took the words right out-"

Tyrian's strike stopped Qrow from finishing his banter. The two fighters attacked with the strength and ferocity that testified to their experiences in battle. As Tyrian struck, Qrow blocked, and as Qrow swung his sword, Tyrian evaded.

At one point, Qrow swung his swort towards Tyrian's wrist blads. The weapons had interlocked within each other, a dangerous moment in any fight. However, Tyrian had another trick up his sleeve. He balled his fists, and tugged his hands towards Qrow. The rapid-fire sound of a gun spitting bullets emanated throughout the square. Qrow jumped back dodging the bullets. Tyrian jumped back as well, before circling around Qrow at a distance, firing bullets the whole time.

Ren and Nora ran towards him to assist, but Qrow barked at them to get back. The two fighters again resumed their fight, throwing blow after blow, and dodging attack after attack.

Fine!" Ruby snapped, before climbing up the spire of an old church. If she couldn't help her uncle in up-close combat, then she'd help him by getting a sniper's view. Through her scope, Ruby saw Tyrian jump, twirl, evade her uncle's strikes, making it virtually impossible for her to get a clear shot. Eventually, Tyrian manages to wrap the tip of his tail around Qrow's wrist, and yanks his sword away.

Ruby watches helplessly as her uncle's weapon lodges itself into the wall of a crumbling building.

_Gotcha! _Ruby thinks as she squeezes the trigger of ther rifle.

Disarming her uncle had forced Tyrian to stay still long enough for Ruby to get a clear shot, but they were meerely deflected by his scorpion tail.

From the roof, Ruby saw her uncle crack his knuckes before punching Tyrian square in the jaw. It knocks Tyrian off guard, showing that he clearly wasn't ready for a hand-to-hand fight. Qrow overpowers Tyrian, kicking him back towards the stone walls of the town, while he strides over to his weapon. Tyrian attacks just as Qrow's about to dislodge it from the wall, and Qrow swiches it into scythe mode. Qrow jumps to the roof, and Tyrian follows him, and they both resume the almost beautiful dance of not only dodging each others' attacks, but also the holes in the roof.

Eventually, though, both of their balances fail, and they tumble through the dilapidated roof into the abandoned building. From her position on the steeple, Ruby jumps back to the ground, and runs over to the building ot help her uncle. Her uncle's body is shot from the house like a ball from a cannon, and even though he lands on his feet, his is surrounded by a flickering red glow.

His aura was running low.

_Screw it!_ Ruby though, running towards the fight.

Just as Tyrian is about to strike her uncle, Ruby moves in and deflects the blow with her own scythe.

"Do you _wish_ to be taken?" Tyrian shouts in disbelief.

"No," Ruby says determindely, leveling her stare at Tyrian. "But I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!"

Jumping to the side to let her uncle through, Ruby swing her scythe at Tyrian, while Qrow reinforced her strike with his sword. Tyrian blocked them both with his gauntlets and his tail, a deadly combination. Tyrian turned his full attention to Ruby, shooting bullets and striking with his gauntlets, and Ruby deflected them as she swung her scythe.

"You think you're so noble, don't you?" Tyrian laughed hysterically. "Jumping into battle to protect your uncle! Your friends!"

Tyrian pulled something out from his belt. "But can you protect them from _this_?!" He laughed manaically as he pulled the pin, and threw it towards Jaune, Ren, and Nora.

"No!" Ruby yelled as she ran towards them.

She watched Jaune slashed at the grenade, knocking it away from the trio, only for it to exploade midair.

A brilliant flash of light burned through the area, followed by a sharp noise that almost sounded like out of tune church bells.

Ruby fell limp on the ground, her ears ringing and her sight moving in and out of focus.

_Flashbang_, Ruby thought, groaning, _not good. _Through her blurred vision, Ruby saw a lone figure walking towards her. She couldn't see who it was, but Ruby knew that she had to get away. She pulled herself to a kneeling position, fighting nauseousness the whole time, only to be yanked to her feet by the hood of her cape. Ruby tried to will her arms to move, but they wouldn't obey her orders. She tried to kick, only to have her legs flail limply on the ground.

A distorted voice sang, "I've picked the ro-ose! I've picked the ro-ose-"

Ruby blacked out before she could hear the rest of what the voice had to say.

When she came to, Ruby's hands and feet were bound, felt a gag in her mouth, preventing her from speaking. Based on the angle of things, Ruby figured that she'd been slung over someone's shoulder.

Then she saw the tail, and it all came rushing back.

_Tyrian! I've been captured by Tyrian!_

"Ah, so you're awake finally!" A cheerful yet dark voice said. "That's good. It wouldn't do my Queen any good if I'd killed you by mistake."

_He's taking me back to his master._ Ruby thought. _Cinder...he'd mentioned Cinder back in the town. If he knows about her, then that mean's she's tied up in all this, too._

Tyrian shrugged her off of his shoulders like he would a sack of flour, and with her arms tied behind her, Ruby had no way to break her fall. She twisted her body as much as she could, landing on her side instead of her face. It still hurt, but she didn't have a broken jaw.

Ruby rolled onto her back, and just as she was about to try to stand, Tyrian leaned over her, and stuck the stinger of his tail in her face. Ruby froze, terrified at the sight of it.

"I'm tired of carrying you." Tyrian said simply, almost like a child asking his parents to carry his backpack for him. "So I'm going to unbind your legs," Tyrian continued, "and have you walk on your own. If you try to run, well..." The stinger of his tail was less than an inch from Ruby's eye, and dripped purple fluid onto he cheek. It felt warm against her skin, and stung slightly, but she didn't dare move to wipe it off.

Tyrian untied the ropes binding Ruby's legs together, his tail never moving away from her face. Then, using the same piece of rope, tied it in a lasso around Ruby's neck. Ruby's eyes went wide at the thought of it.

Tyrian laughed at her distress. "Now _you'll_ get to see what's it's like being treated like an animal!" Tyrian laughed gleefully. "Like a shepherd with his little lamb, I'll lead you to the slaughter. Or if my Queen wishes to use you for her own purposes, I guess that works out, too."

Tyrian yanked the rope, and the lasso tightened around Ruby's throat. She quickly stood, and walked quickly to keep pace with Tyrian. Only by staying by his side would the lasso be loose enough for her to breathe, but she would be in Tyrian's line of sight.

Ruby took a mental inventory.

_For startes, I don't have Crescent-Rose-Tyrian would never take me if I had something to fight him with. _

Ruby tugged at the ropes binding her hands behind her back.

_ Can't reach_ _the emergency knife in my boot...why is it that the only weapon I do have, I can't reach? _

Ruby flicked her eyes back at Tyrian, zeroing in on his black insectoid tail. It flicked back and forth as he walked, almost like a cat's. A thought crossed through Ruby's mind as she gazed at it. A horrible, horrible, very crazy thought.

_This goes against everything I stand for...but he's my enemy, and I'm in a lot of trouble. _

Ruby decided that there was no other way to distract him long enough for her to run, let alone to reach her knife.

Ruby feigned exhaustion (which wasn't that hard) and fell a little behind Tyrian. She lasso tightened around her throat, but she wouldn't be like that for long...she hoped.

Tyrian tugged his end of the rope, and grumbled "Come on! I have to get to the fortress as quickly as possible!"

Ruby stumbled, getting closer to Tyrian's back. Satisfied that his new plaything was behaving, Tyrian turned his back, and continued to walk forward.

He didn't notice that in her stumbling, Ruby had managed to lower her arms enough to step through them.

With her hands now forward, Ruby braced herself to make a break for it.

Quickly, she caught Tyrian's swinging tail in her hands, and yanked it as hard as she could. There was a satisfying _crack! _as the exoskeleton of the tail cracked from the pull, at it fell limp against Tyrian's legs.

Tyrian dropped the rope binding Ruby to him, and pulled his tail in with his hands, screaming like a banchee. Either Ruby had dislocated it, or she had broken it, either way, Tyrian was distracted by his pain.

_Now's my chance! _

Ruby quickly activated her semblance, turning into a cloud of roses as she made for the trees. However, the rope still tied around her neck got caught on a tree branch, and stopped Ruby in her tracks. Hastily, she managed to pry her hunting knife from her boot, and sawed at the rope around her hands before cutting away the one around her throat. The ropes fell to the ground with a soft _thud_, and Ruby stood, spitting out the gag from her mouth.

_I need to go, NOW__! _She thought. Tyrian's howls of pain had ceased, and now she only heard his cries of anger, which were getting closer and closer.

Ruby stood, and was about to activate her semblance again, when white hot pain shot through her right leg. Ruby collapsed back to the ground, whimpering from the pain. A wiry hand ran fingers thorugh her hair, pulling up her head by her hair.

"How about we play a little game?" Tyrian whispered in Ruby's ear. His breath smelled sour, like he drank poison before coming here. Tyrian pulled on her hair again, yanking Ruby's head so hard that she thought she'd have whiplash. Ruby grunted from the pain, somthing so instinctive that she didn't have control over it.

"So you finally give in a little." Tyrian snarls, an evil smile spreading across his face. RUby looked at him from the corner of her eyes, and she felt them warm from her fear.

_You can't cry,_ Ruby thought. _Not now. Can't show weakness, not to him. Never to him. _

"I'll give you a chance to run," Tyrian continues menacingly, his hot breath stinging her ear. "And If I catch you...well, you're going to wish I'd killed you."

Tyrian threw her head away, and Ruby stayed down on the ground, afraid to move for fear of Tyrian. Her leg throbbed from the bullet wound, and she didn't know how far she'd get on it. Her eyes stung from tears, and she tried desperately not to let any fall.

_Be brave_, Ruby said to herself, her fists gripping the grass and mulch. _Yang wouldn't cry. Yang wouldn't...Yang wouldn't..._

Ruby tried to psych herself up, to make a break for it, but when she looked into Tyrian's eyes, she was all the more scared of him. Tyrian's eyes were blank, as if there were not a trace of a soul behind him. Tyrian's face was stoic, but Ruby could practically smell the anger coming off of him. Ruby had seen enough of Yang's outbursts to know when to fear an angry person.

It wasn't when they were yelling and screaming, throwing a tantrum. No, it was when they were quiet, because that meant that they were letting thier rationality plot thier revenge.

"I'll give you a twenty second head start." Tyrian said blankly, letting go of Ruby's hair. "_One_..._Two_..._Three_..."

When Ruby realized what was happing, she scrambled to her feet, and ran deeper into the woods. The shot to her leg was draining what remained of her aura, and when she tried to activate her semblance, she found she couldn't.

_Looks like I'll be doing this the old-fashioned way, _Ruby thought as she took up a sprinter's form.

Adrenaline took over her system, dulling her pain, and making her run faster, each step almost in line with the beating of her heart. Even before she'd activated her semblance, she was incredibly fast. Her father used to have a hard time catching her, and Yang could never beat her in a footrace when they were kids. As she dodged trees and briars, Ruby remembered the words of her uncle during a training session.

_Don't run in a straight line, _her uncle's voice told her, _it's harder to follow a trail if you don't run in a straight line_.

Though she had prepared for this exact situation, Ruby felt terror motivate her to run faster and faster. Her throat felt raw, and her chest ached from the effort, and her legs were screaming at her to stop.

Th fear of what Tyrian might do to her emanated throughout her mind, forcing her to keep moving, keep running, keep-

A shot rang out through the woods, knockingRuby into a tree. Her head cracked against the trunk, and for the second time that day, Ruby was disoriented. Her side felt wet and sticky and warm, and Ruby knew she was shot.

"I fou-ound you-ou." Tyrian's voice sang. Ruby heard the sound of leaves crunch, and when she looked up, his face was in front of her, his tail stroking her cheek. Her eyes went wide, and panic seized her.

"Little Reeeeed..." Tyrian cooed. "You're a preettty girl. Not quite as _beautiful_ as my Queen, though."

Ruby took in a shuddering breath, fear pulsing through her veins like blood. She couldn't let him see her break down. She couldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"You must be so _proud_," Tyrian grabbed her throat in his right hand, pinning her head to the tree. "So _proud_ of yourself. Of your pretty face...and of those _eyes_ of yours..."

Ruby stopped struggling, the meaning behind Tyrian's words finally reaching her.

_If I catch you, you will wish I'd killed you..._

"No." Ruby whispered. Tyrian smiled an evil, toothy grin, and pressed her head further into the tree. The grip on her throat was so tight, it was becoming difficult to breathe. Ruby struggled against Tyrian, jabbing at his throat with her fingers. It was a move Yang had taught her before she went off to Beacon, but Ruby as wasn't skilled in hand-to-hand combat as Yang was. Tyrian grabbed her other hand, and twisted it away from his body. Pain spiraled through Ruby's arm, and she knew if she struggled any more, he'd snap her arm in half.

_If he weren't a faunus, he'd be out of hands to hold me with, _Ruby thought, her warrior's brain still analyzing hte situation, constantly looking for a way out. _But his tail- _

Tyrian brought his tail up, the stinger poised for a strike. Though she had damaged it in her attack on him, Tyrian's anger had made it strong again.

She wanted to be strong, she wanted _so badly _to be as strong as Yang. To not cry in the face of danger. She wanted to be like her mother, a huntress who always saved the day...And yet...And yet she was a second away from beggin for mercy. Not for what he was going to do to her, but because Ruby wouldn't know what comes after.

"No." She whispered to herself.

_Be brave, _Ruby thought, _be brave, be brave, be brave- _

Tyrian meerely smiled, and the last thing Ruby saw was the movement of his tail, before the world became a cloud of darkness and pain.

* * *

**-Ren- **

They found her by the sound of her screams, and Tyrian's taunting.

By the time they got to Ruby and Tyrian, he was laughing over Ruby's body, watching her crawl away pathetically.

Nora, the most temperamental of the group, made the first move for Tyrian with her hammer. Naturally, he jumped away, but not before Jaune got the drop on him. Slashing and hacking at Tyrian's head and torso kept the faunus busy, until Tyrian wrapped his damaged tail around Jaune's sword arm.

"You're just like her." Tyrian panted, "So brave...and so reckle-"

Tyrian's words were cut off as Qrow, who had switched his sword to scythe mode, had hooked Tyrian's tail in it's blade, and yanked it back. Tyrian collapsed to the ground, howling with pain at his severed tail. Juane watched as the stinger, along with half the tail in general, fell to the ground beside him.

Tyrian, knowing well that he'd just lost, and had brought the wrath of this group to his door, shoved Juane to the ground, and made a beeline for the trees, mumbling frantically, "She'll forgive you. She'll forgive you..."

Meanwhile, Ren, who had been guarding Ruby, finally deemed it was safe enough to inspect her wounds. Gently, he put a hand on her shoulder, not wanting to scare her more than she already was.

"Ruby." Ren said. "It's safe now." Ren felt Ruby tense under his hand, before allowing her body to relax. "I'm going to turn you over, okay? We need to see how bad your wounds are."

Ruby nodded into the gorund, and Ren gently pulled her over her side, laying her down on her back. Ren's stomach churned at the state of his friend. Bullet holes leaked her blood onto the ground, and what skin that wasn't covered by clothes was covered in bruises and cuts. But that's not what made Ren squeamish. Very few things did. No, what nauseated him was that her-

"Ruby!" Jaune shouted, kneeling beside Ren. Ren heard his friend's breath hitch as he too, took in the state of their friend and leader.

"Jaune?" Ruby choked, clearly in pain. "Is that you?" Ruby brought up her hand to search for the face of her friend, only to come up with empty air. Jaune caught it in his own hand, and brought it to his face, letting Ruby feel that it was really him.

"I'm here, Ruby." He said. "We all are."

Shortly after, Nora and Qrow joined the huddle around Ruby, meerely watching as Ren treated her wounds. He put dressings around the bullet holes, waiting until the bleeding stopped before wrapping bandages around them. The cuts and bruises weren't healing, which was a sign that Ruby's aura was dangerously low. But her eyes...Ren didn't know how much he could do for those.

Ruby's eyes had been slashed by something razor-sharp, and were bleeding profusely, blood dripping down here face like tears. Nora looked at Ren, and an understanding seemed to pass between them.

"Ruby," Ren said. "I need to inspect your eyes."

"NO!" Ruby whimpered. Jaune squeezed her hand, trying to offer comfort to his friend.

"It's gonna be okay, Crater-Face." Jaune said soothingly. "Ren's just gonna...he's gonna see what they look like, so we know what we're dealing with."

"Nora." Ren said softly. "Sit by her head, and hold it still. She's going to struggle. Juane, keep her calm."

Jaune and Nora nodded, each moving towards their designated jobs. Nora gently held Ruby's head still, while Juane whispered words of encouragement to his friend. Qrow, whom Ren could see out of the corner of his eye, stood in silence.

"I'm just going to open the eyelid." Ren said, putting his left hand gently on Ruby's forehead, while using his right thumb and forefinger to open her left eyelid. There was a clear cut running across the eye itself. Not a good sign. When Ren checked the other, it was the same type of injury, if not a tiny bit deeper. Ren sighed, and brought his hands away from her face, gathering more dressings and bandages from his pack. He put one on each of Ruby's eyes, before wrapping the bandage snugly around Ruby's head. When he tied it off, Ren looked at his friends, before adressing Ruby again.

"The wounds are bad, Ruby." Ren said.

"Kinda...figured that." Ruby grunted, trying to make light of the dire situation.

Ren sighed again. "I fear that if we don't get to Haven within the next day or so..." Ren took a deep breath. Why was this so hard? "If we don't get to Haven soon, there is a strong possibility you could go blind for good."

Ruby was silent for a moment. "So..." Her voice cracked, "So what do we do now?"

There was silence again, a clear sign that no one knew the answer to that. That is, until Qrow's raspy voice spoke up. "We'll keep moving for as long as we can tonight, and then we'll make camp. Before the sun rises tomorrow, we'll get going, and the first town we come across, we'll wire a distress call to Haven. We're in the vicinity, so chances are that even if we can't find a phone or a radio, sending up a smoke signal should alert a scouting ship."

* * *

**-Qrow- **

In order to get themselves closer to Haven, they would need to build a stretcher for Ruby. Juane and Nora went off to collect branches and twigs from the woods, while Ren and Qrow stayed behind.

Qrow took out his flask, wanting to take a sip for himself, before remembering his niece, and thinking about how much pain she must be in right now. Jostling her around on a gurney wouldn't make the trip any easier on her. Qrow put a hand on Ren's shoulder, saying "Go look for something that can make a hammock. If you can't find anything, we'll work with what we do have."

Ren looked up at Qrow, and nodded. He rose to his feet, and set off to search through their belongings. Qrow kneeled down beside his niece. Ren kept walking, although at the same time keeping his ears trained on

"Hey there, Squirt." Qrow said softly. Ruby turned her head towards the sound of his voice. "Uncle Qrow?" Ruby whispered in a hoarse voice. She coughed, wincing from the effort, and brought her hand up to cover her mouth. Qrow felt a spike of guilt and anger at the state of his niece. He had trained her himself, prepared her for anything, and yet he could not prepare her for this, could not protect her. And anger, because he wanted to wring Tyrian's neck for what he had done to Ruby. The next tiem Qrow saw Tyrian, he would show no mercy.

Qrow shook his flask in front of Ruby's face, close enough for her to hear the liquid sloshing around inside.

"Is that your flask?" Ruby asked. Qrow nodded, before he realized Ruby couldn't see it. "Yes", he said aloud. Qrow took Ruby's hand, and wrapped her fingers and palm around th ecold metal.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked. Qrow realized that this was the first time he'd ever let another person touch his flask. Hopefully, it was the last time, too.

"The trip's about to get a lot rougher for you." Qrow said quietly. He wasn't too sure if her friends would approve of this. "You're going to be moved and jostled as we carry you in the stretcher, and that will aggrivate your wounds. This stuff in here is pretty strong. It may help with the pain, make it more manageable...that is, if you want it."

Qrow saw Ruby's hand tighten around the flask. He could tell that she was debating whether or not to take a drink. Ruby's grip loosened, and the flask fell back into Qrow's hand.

"No thanks, Uncle Qrow," Ruby said with a determined tone, "I can handle it."

Qrow smiled wryly at his niece. Even blinded, injured, and exhausted, she was still trying to put on a brave face for him and her friends. There was something he admired in that, but he also wished that she just accepted the remedy. Qrow was no stranger to pain, and he could only imagine how much Ruby was in.

"Alright." Qrow said, tucking the bottle back into his pocket. Behind him, Qrow heard Ren approach, and when he turned, saw that he'd brought a dirty and torn blanket with him.

"There was an abandoned campsite." Ren said. "It's old, but it'll do."

Qrow nodded, appreciating the kid's ingenuity. There was the sound of branches snapping, and when Qrow turned towards the sound, ready for a fight, only saw Juane and Nora carrying two large branches, each about the same size of Ruby.

As Jaune and Ren put the stretcher together, Nora knelt by Ruby, while Qrow stood, his eyes scanning the woods for danger.

"Qrow", Nora said. "Something's wrong."

Qrow looked with a start at Ruby, and noticed that a purple substance was bleeding through the bandages. Nora put a hand on Ruby's forehead, which had suddenly perspired, before looking up at him with worried eyes. "She's got a fever!" Nora said worriedly.

Qrow's fists clenched in anger, frustrated at thier situation, as well as at himself. _He's a scoripion Faunus! _Qrow thought, Of course _if would've been poisoned! _

"Nora!" Jaune shouted, "what's wrong?"

Before she could answer, Qrow replied harshly, "The damn tail was poisoned!"

Silence stunned the group. Ren rushed over to Ruby's side, and after inspecting her current condition, stated "We need to get her to Haven. _Now..._Or else her sight might not be the only thing she loses."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**I'm BA-ACK! Did ya miss me? **

**You probably didn't miss the cliffhangars I'm so fond of leaving around! **

**This is an idea that had been floating around my head since I saw this scene from when Volume 4, and heard Tyrian's famous ****line, " Well...she took _your _[Cinder's] eye, didn't she?". **** I saw that there were a few fanfics where Tyrian poisoned Ruby instead of Qrow, but not many that were about if Ruby had, in fact, been captured by Tyrian.**

**I wonder, what would have happened if, though he failed to capture Ruby, Tyrian still ensured that his Queen would never have to worry about the silver-eyed warriors again?**

**I'm getting excited just thinking about this, and I absolutely can't wait to see how the story progresses! **

**Hope you guys like it! **

**-thrillerartist **


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ****_RWBY_****! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO ROOSTERTEETH ANIMATION!**

**"Look Not with the Eyes"**

**by thrillerartist**

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**You guys don't know how happy I was to see that people started following the story! I'll be honest, I was really worried that people wouldn't like it. I know that some of you have commented on the misspellings on Jaune's name, and for that I'm REALLY sorry, and I promise I won't let it happen again. However, if I happen to be post something late at night, after having a long day of classes and work, I really don't have control over what I do and don't spell right (LOL!). **

**That being said, I'm sorry I haven't posted this sooner, but classes are really started to dig their heels on my life, and midterms are also coming up. I probably won't be able to post again for a while. **

**As usual, likes, comments, and reviews are always encouraged and appreciated! **

**-thrillerartist **

* * *

**Chapter 2: Window to the Soul**

_When I was a child, my father used to tell me, over and over again, to look people in the eye. "It's how they know you're listening, Ruby", he'd said. He used to say a lot of things to get me to look up from the ground._

_But I fought him every way. I couldn't scan the woods for Grimm if I was looking into someone's eyes, or so that was my logic at the time. It wasn't until my older sister had sat me down on my bed, and explained it to me why looking in someone's eyes was important. ._

_"The eyes are the window into the soul, Ruby", Yang said. "Do you know what that means?" _

_"No." I'd said. _

_Yang meerely smiled and said, "The eyes hold the meanings to things people say. When you look into someone's eyes, you can see the things they're trying to hide. You can see if they're sad, or happy, or angry. _That's_ why they're called a window to the soul." _

_These days, I find myself coming back to that memory, over and over again, lingering on Yang's words._

_If the eyes are indeed the windows into the soul, then I wonder what people see when they look into mine?_

* * *

**-Nora-**

They were trking in formation, with Ren at the very front with his weapons drawn. Qrow and Jaune walked behind him, carrying Ruby on a stretcher She watched Jaune's back as he helped Qrow carry Ruby through the desolated forest on a stretcher they'd made from branches and an old blanket. Ruby tossed and turned feverishly on it, the only sign that she was still fithing to stay alive. Nevertheless, the sight of her friend still made Nora's heart feel like it was getting squeezed. Nora was placed at the very back of the line, holding Manghild in its grenade launcher postition. Nora's stomach churned with anxiety, and moments of panic and fear swirled around in her mind.

As her eyes scanned the area for signs of danger, Nora couldn't help but think that it felt eerily familiar.

"Just...hold on, kiddo." Nora hears Qrow say from the front of the line. "We've gotcha. I've gotcha."

Ruby gave no signal that she'd heard him, muttering instead, "Dad...what happened...Dad-". A fit of hacking and coughing was the only thing that stopped her fevered hallucinations, and lulled her back into silence.

Nora couldn't help but let her mind wander to darker thoughts. She couldn't help but think of her former teammate, Pyrrah, who had died fighting an opponent she knew she couldn't beat.

Now, in a way, the same was happening to Ruby.

_Please, _Nora thought, _Not again. __Don't let it happen again. We can't lose anyone else. _

"She's getting worse." Jaune says, bringing Nora out of her thoughts. She couldn't see Ruby from her position behind Jaune, but she heard sounds of labored breathing, and knew it to be true.

Nora took a deep, calming breath, determined to keep her composure. "We've gotta be close." She says, hating how desperate she sounds, though she was trying to keep her nerves at bay.

She hears the sound of Ren's sigh, a noise she had grown used to hearing. "Without the map, there's no way of knowing." Ren says. "But I feel like...we're close to something."

Suddenly, the group stops their trek, and Nora sees Ren run ahead, towards a post that stood in the middle of a small clearing.

"What is it?" Jaune asks, still holding up Ruby's stretcher with Qrow.

Nora sees what he's looking at, and when she sees the words "Mistral" carved into the wooden sign, a glimmer of hope shines through to her.

She runs ahead to meet Rea, abandoning her position at the back of the line.

"Hey!" She sheaths Magnhild to it's strap on her back, and points at the sign. "Mistral!" She says excitedly, " we're on the right path!" Nora looks at Ren with hope, but when she sees his stoic face, she knows somthing is wrong. His eyes portrayed a saddness to them that Nora had not seen in a long, long time. Again, a twinge of unease stirred within Nora, and when she looks at the sign again, finds her yes read the words "Kuroyuiri". The sign that held the village's name had been crossed out, a warning to travelers who dared to wander into this area.

"Oh." Nora murmers softly. _No wonder, _she thought.

She knows immediately what's troubling Ren. The same thing was troubling her, now.

_Of all the times to come back here,_ Nora thinks, _why does__ it have to be _now_? _

"Does it say how close?" Jaune calls from a few yards away.

"No." Ren says sullenly. "And it looks like the path takes us up through the mountains." Nora feels a wave of tension emanate off of him, and she tried her hardest to maintain a calm demeanor.

Nora doesn't see what happens next. She's too busy looking at Ren, whose eyes were still fixed on the crossed out words of the sign.

Qrow's raspy voice breaks into the conversation, saying, "Not all of us can make a climb like that."

Nora knew that taking Ruby through the mountains would put her in more pain, with Qrow and Jaune having to contantly readjust her stretcher to accomodate for hills and cliffs and peaks.

_What if there are narrow cliffside?_ Nora thinks. _What will we do then? The path to Mistral is the fastest, but...will she even last if we jostle her around like that? _

The path to Kuroyuri, Nora knew, would take them the long way around the mountain, and would _eventually_ lead to Msitral. It was flat and smooth, and would not jostle Ruby too much.

_But we'll run into the same problme eventaully, _Nora continued. _We'll still be faced with whether she'll make it or not! _

"We'll go to Kuroyuri." Qrow decides for the group

"That village was destroyed years ago." Ren says sadly.

"But if it takes us around the mountains, it's the best bet we've got." Jaune adds in, trying to be the mediator.

"It will take too long!" Ren snaps.

"Every town has a doctor of some sort." Jaune retorts. "We'll scavenge for medicines."

"We're not going to find anything," Ren snaps, clearly not wanting to hear any more of this, "we just have to press on!"

Silence ensues for a few moments. Jaune looked desperate to find a solution to this problem, and Qrow...well, he usually had the same expression all the time.

Jaune asks, "Qrow, you can turn into a bird, right? Can't you fly and get help?"

Qrow took a look back at his niece, then returned his gaze towards the three teenagers. "I can't leave Ruby." He says. "I promised Tai I'd..."

He didn't have to say anything else. Nora knew what he was going to say:

_I promised Tai I'd protect her._

"I can't leave her." Qrow says. "Not now."

Jaune takes a deep breath, before sighing in frustration. "Then what should we do?" He asks, running a frustrated hand through his blonde hair. Nora knew it was never a good sign when the team's strategist couldn't come up with a plan.

Nora forced her mind to come up wiht a solution, any solution, to help resolve this quickly. They couldn't waste any more time.

Suddenly, her mind settled on one viable option.

_Jaune's not going to like this,_ Nora thinks, _but it's the only plan we've got right now. _

Nora puts a hand on Ren's shouder. "We can split up." She says clearly. Nora watched the look of shot cross Jaune's face, a clear sign that he would not go for her idea.

"Ren and I can cut through the mountains while you and Qrow around through the village." Nora says quickly, before Jaune could get a single word of argument in.

"No." Jaune says, stepping one foot forward. "We're supposed to stick together, we keep each other safe."

"We don't have _time _for safe!" Nora argues. She looks at Qrow, silently asking for him to help her out.

"Nora's right", Qrow says, nodding in understanding. "We can't bring everyone up the mountain, and we need to get to Mistral quickly. So you and I will go to that village, and we'll scavenge for medicines. If anything, it'll be a safe place to Ruby."

Jaune's face hardened for a moment, a look that Nora knew meant he had lost. "Okay." Jaune whipsers, before hugging Ren, and then Nora, saying, "Just take care of each other."

Nora smiles sadly, and says, "We always have."

Before they parted ways, Nora watched Qrow and Jaune pick up Ruby's stretcher, before heading off on the path towards Kuroyuri. Looking back towards Ren, Nora nodded, and together, they set off towards the mountains.

Hopefully, they could find Mistral, or somewhere else to go that would be safer than this dead forest.

Realistically...Nora didn't want to think realistically.

_If this all goes wrong, _Nora thinks, _Jaune can rest easier knowing that this decision wasn't one he'd made._

* * *

**-Yang-**

She woke with a start, another nightmare tormenting her sleep. The dreams had become less and less frequent, but they still persisted, especially if Yang had something on her mind.

_Yang opened her eyes to see the Beacon library in flames. Blake was beside her, fighting Adam. When Yang looked down, both of her old gauntlets were on her hands, thier weight familiar. Yang launched her attacks from a distance, firing buckshot at the bull faunus. _

_And then, Blake was gone, having vanished into dust. _

_Yang felt lopsided, and when she looked down again, she saw that her right arm had disappeared in the same way. _

_"What will you do now?" Adam gloated, stalking towards her. "You're aura's practically gone now, and you're all alone." _

_Yang brought up her left arm to fire another shot at jhim, but Adam meerely slashed his sword, and cut off Yang's other arm. Adam kicked her to the ground, and there was no way for Yang to break her fall. _

_"You're defenseless, broken, and alone." Adam said, grabbing the hilt of his sword in both of his gloved hands, bringing it down towards her head. _

The last thing she heard before she woke up was the sound of his laughter.

She put her head in her hands, regaining her panicked breath. Her mechanical right hand felt cool to the touch, while her left felt hot and sticky from sweat.

_It was jsut a dream, _she thought.

_Not everyone's semblance is essedntailly a temper-tantrum. Once you take damage, you can dish it back twice as hard, but that doesn't make you __invincible._

_Yeah, no shit, Dad, _Yang thought and she flexed her robotic fingers. Her new arm moved just as much as her real one did. Her fine and gross motor skills were all in tact, and she was even able to write again.

Though, she didn't really have anyone to write to.

_ It's great when you're in a bind, but what happens if you miss? _

_I _did_ miss,_ Yang thought, resting her arm on her leg.

Her father's mental lecture continued in her mind.

What_ happens if they're stronger? _

Yang looked down at her mechanical arm and hand. At the Fall of Beacon, she allowed her anger to get the better of her, thinking that the best way to beat Adam was by punching his lights out with a single blow. But Adam had the same idea, and saw right through her attack.

And she lost her arm beacuse of it. For once, brute force wasn't the answer, and Yang learned that lesson in the worst possible way.

Knowing that she wasn't going to get anymore sleep with her mind racing like this, Yang threw off her blankets, and went to the desk in her and Ruby's room. Opening the top drawer, she saw the note Ruby had left the day she left for Haven. Yang picked it up, reading over Ruby's handwriting once more, no light except for the moon shining through the window.

Then, something more caught Yang's eye. Setting the note aside, she picked up an old photograph that she hadn't looked at in a long time. It was the picture of team RWBY, taken just after they became a team. They stood in the order of their team name: Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake. They all at their arms aroudn each other (well, all except wEiss and Blake), and they were smiling. Ruby looked like she was even laughing. Right above thier heads was two words, Red words written in Ruby's handwriting: NEW FRIENDS! At the bottom corner, there was a drawn cartoon heart.

Yang hadn't seen this picture in a while. She realized she must've thrown it in the desk during one of her tantrums the past few months. Right now, she just looked at the picture, staring at once person in particular.

_You've always thought that the best way to overcome an obstacle is to break through it...But, if you take a step back, take a better look, you can see that there's another way around it. _

Yang knew that her father's words were true, but as she stared at the picture, she couldn't see a way around this. Sure, it was possible for her team to get back together, but there was no way that the rift between Yang and Blake could ever be repaired. Yang knew that she couldn't fight through that, but she couldn't see a way around it, either. And that made her fristrated.

She gripped hte photo in her hand, releasing it as soon as she started to see it bend and crease. It was the closest thing to Ruby she'd seen in the past few months, and she didn't want to ruin it.

Yang missed her dearly. She missed Ruby so much that it ached almost as much as the hurt she felt towards Blake.

As she stared at Ruby's smiling picture, Yang couldn't help but wonder just how much trouble her sister had managed to get herself into while she was on her own.

_Knowing Ruby, she probably stumbled into troubl without even trying to look for it, _Yang thought with a smirk.

However, at hte mere thought of her sister being in distress, a bad feeling settled into Yang's stomach.

A faint glow of orange streamed through her room, and when Yang looked up, she realized that it was the dawn breaking. As the sun rose on the horizon, Yang felt her resolve do the same. That feeling in her gut, though, only seemed to get stronger.

_I gotta go find her._

* * *

**-Ren- **

The wind whipped against their clothes, chilling Ren, but not enought to penetrate his bones. A quiet fire had kindled inside of him since they parted ways with their companions back in the forest.

_I am never going back to that place, ever. _Ren thought with every step up the hill he and Nora were currently climbing.

However, once he reached the top, Ren only so saw even more were stretched out before him.

_It was a good thing we didn't try and bring Ruby,_ Ren thought. _All the jostling would only make her worse. And I doubt Jaune and Qrow could could maneuver around this while holding her stretcher. _

Another breeze tickled Ren's skin with cold air, reminding him once again of hte reality of their situation.

"We never get the easy path, do we?" Ren called back to his partner, Nora, who was only a few steps behind him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ren saw Nora grin slightly, putting her hands behind her head, and say, "Easy's no fun, anyway."

Nora puts her hands down at her sides, and turns to him. "You okay?" She asks.

"Mmhm." Ren nods, before asking, "And you?"

Nora smiles softly, and says "I've got you here, don't I?"

A flutter of warmth stirrs in Ren's stomach, though he can't for the life of him place why. He only knew that when those words left Nora's lips, he felt like for the first time in days, everything would be alright.

Ren wanted to say some sort of reply, but only found himself at a loss for words. Before he can even try, however, Nora walks ahead. Waving her hand back at him, she says, "Come on, I'm sure there's more than one way up the mountain."

However, Ren can only find himself staring after her as she walks away. His friend, his closest friend was beside him. No matter the situation, Nora could always look on the bright side of things, and that was something Ren was grateful for now. He even found himself smiling for the first time in days, before the sound of thundering wind swept it away.

"Hey!" Ren heard Nora call. He looked towards her, and found her standing in front of the mouth of a cave, pointing at it. "There's wind coming from the mouth of this cave!" Nora yelled.

Ren trotted carefully towards the cave's entrance, stopping only once he was beside her. Indeed, there was wind blowing through the mouth of the cave, almost whistling in the air.

"Think it might be from the peak?" Nora asks Ren.

"Maybe." Ren replies. "The only way to find out is-" A tattered and smelly cloth stops his words, having been carried from the strong wind directly onto Ren's face.

He hears Nora stifle a laugh as he struggles to pull it off.

_Great, _Ren thinks. _Just great. _

Once he finally wrangles the cloth from his head, he shoots Nora a playful glare. "Yes, yes," Ren says, "very funny." When he looks down at the cloth in his hands, he sees a floural design that seemed very familiar. He stares at ir, wracking his brain for an answer.

"Hey," Nora says, "What's wrong?"

And then it finally hits him.

"This is the symbol for Shion Village." Ren says, a tremor of fear lacing his words.

"Shion?" Nora repeats. "But thats...that's the villiage where we found the huntsman..." She looks up at him, anxiety in her eyes. "It's weeks away from here." She says.

Ren grasps the flag in his hands, feeling once again a warmth taking over him, but not one caused comfort. No, this warmth was caused by fear...and anger. He drops the flag in realization, and runs towards the cave.

"Wait!" Nora calls after him, but Ren doesn't heed her words.

_Please, _Ren thought as he entered, _don't be what I think it is..._

When Ren saw the body of hte cave, his stomach dropped. Weapons were sticking up from the ground-hilt-first, and bones were littered all over the rest of it. Nora ran up behind him, stopping to see the carnage with her own eyes. "Oh my gosh." Nora murmered.

Ren felt a scowl crease his face, and he moved forwards, deeper into a cave. There was a trail of dark liquid, blood that had long since dried. The trail that seemed to be calling to him, and he obediently followed. At the end, Ren found an arrow with a specially designed head. Ren crouched down to pick it up when Nora came to his side. When Ren looked up at her, her eyes were turned towards the floor. Ren followed her gaze, landing on a giant horse-shoe shaped imprint the same color as the stains on the ground.

_This isn't a cave, _Ren thought, standing up and moving towards the mouth of a cave.

_It's __a monster's lair. _

In the forest below them, trees rustled, as if something of humungous proportions was parting them.

**To be continued... **


	3. Chapter 3

**Look Not With the Eyes **

**by thrillerartist**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN _RWBY_! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO ROOSTERTEETH ANIMATION!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: I Promise**

**-Jaune- **

The sound of cobblestones and crunching gravel beneath their feet was the only thing Jaune could hear. For miles, he and Qrow had carried an unconscious Ruby through the desolated forest, into an even more desolated village. Buildings-or what used to be buildings-were falling apart at the seams, thier walls crumbling to the ground like falling leaves. The ones still standing were permanently hidious shades of gray and brown and black, from either smoke or from decay. Vines crept thier way around flagpoles and lamposts, turning them in to almost artificial trees.

Nature had started to retake this place, now that there was no one there to keep it in check.

Though he knew they probably wouldn't find what they were looking for, Jaune still asked Qrow, "Anything around here that may look like a pharmacy?"

"No," Qrow grunted from the front, a sound that Jaune knew to attribute to the veteran huntsman. "It's hard to tell a collapsed building from a pile of logs."

_Harsh, _Jaune thought, _though it's a true statement. _

Yet the softer side of Jaune could not deny that this was once a village, and a great one, by the amount of ruined buildings.

"You're friend was pretty adamant about not coming here." Qrow said from the front. "You have any clue as to why?"

"No." Jaune said, shaking his head sadly, "But...I think I have a pretty good idea."

_Grimm most likely destroyed this place, _was what Jaune wanted to say. _But I can't speak for this place when Ren's not here to confirm if it's true. _

At the center of what used to be the town square, there was monumental tree, about as thick around as both Jaune and Qrow standing side-by-side.

"That's as probably as good a place as any to set her down." Qrow said, nodding his head toward the tree. "No risk of getting collapsed on, and we can see our surroundings on all sides.

"Sounds good." Jaune replied. When they set Ruby down on the ground beside the tree, they placed her upright against teh trunk. Trying to make her as comfortable as possible, Jaune took his canteen off of his belt, and used it to wet his old hankerchief. Gently, he set it against Ruby's flushed and sweating forehead before standing back up.

"I'm gonna scour the perimeter." Qrow grunted as he took a sip from his flask before grabbing his weapon. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Wait here."

Jaun nodded again, and kneeled down beside his wounded teammate, looking at her current state. He sighed in defeat, and mumbled, "Not like we have anywhere to go right now..."

Jaune didn't so much as see as hear Qrow walk away. He was transfixed by the intricate wrappings surrounding Ruby's face and forehead, and couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for her current state.

He shook himself out of his stupor, saying _Don't think like that. She's gonna be fine. We'll make it to Mistral, we'll get her help, she's not going to- _

"Jaune.." Ruby mumbled softly. It was barely loud enough to speak over the voices in Jaune's head.

Jaune turned to "Hey, Ruby. How're you feeling?"

Ruby coughs, spitting up phlegm and tiny speckles of blood, painting her lip a thin shade of red.

It took everything in his power to not throw up at the sight of it. _That's not a good sign. _

He swallowed his fear, and opted to wipe the mess off Ruby's face with the back of his hand, as best he could at least.

"I've...been better..." Ruby mumbled.

Jaune sighed softly, swallowing the bile that had risen in his throat. He gently brushed her bangs behind her ear, keeping them out of her blood and tears. "I know," he said, letting his fingers and palm cup her cheek. He frowned at the warmth of it, knowing it meant her fever was spiking again.

Ruby brought her left hand, resting it atop the hand that cupped her cheek."Surprised..." She grunted, "you didn't throw up just now...Vomit Boy." Ruby tried to smile, but the movement of her face only caused her to grimace in pain.

"Yeah." Jaune smiles a small smile, before he remembers Ruby can't see him. "Funny, Crater Face." Ruby huffs, but Jaune couldn't tell if it was a groan or a laugh.

When he smiled grimly, his eyes landed on thier clasped hands.

Jaune felt head rise into his face, as he internally screamed_ YOU'RE HOLDING A GIRL'S HAND! _

Jaune slowly breathed, trying to calm himself, and began to withraw his hand from Ruby's. However, she gripped him tighter. "Please," Ruby said softly, almost begging him, "Just so I know where you are. I...I'm scared, I can't see where you are, I can't see where I am-"

"It's okay." Jaune said, allowing his hand to stay clasped in Ruby's. "It's alright." He says. "I'm not gonna leave you alone. I prmise."

Jaune was about to say something else, when the sound of rustling leaves grabbed his attention. He stayed knelt beside Ruby, letting go of her hand and setting it on his knee, before grasping the hilt of his sword.

_Go ahead, _Jaune thought, _whatever you are, I dare you to come closer. But you'll have to face me if you do. _

"What is it?" Ruby asks, fingers gripping his knee. "What was that noise?" She asks.

"It was just the wind." Jaune says, more so to put Ruby at ease. Though he didn't know for sure what that noise was, he had to keep her as calm and comfortable as possible. He releases the handle of his sword, and covers her hand wiht this, assuring her that he was there.

"I'm sorry." Ruby says, the back of her throat sounding watery. Her fingers gripped his knee tightly. "I should've never dragged you out here."

That comment stopped Jaune "You didn't drag us in. We wanted to come.

"But, you didn't know about Tyrian, about-"

"Ruby." Jaune said firmly enough to get her attention. "Stop. We...we lost Pyrrah. You lost her, too. And Penny, and you're team, and-"

_No. _He thought. _Don't say that._ Never_ say that, not now._

"And, in a way, your sister." Jaune quickly recovered. "But you're still here. You're here, because you thought that you could make a difference. You didn't drag us along." Jaune grabbed Ruby's hand again, cupping it gently within his other hand. "You gave us the courage to follow you." Jaune finished.

Ruby huffed again, smiling a very small smile, and Jaune decided that it was a laugh. "I doubt I'll be of much of a leader after this." Ruby says as she reaches up to her bandages with her free hand. She sets her fingertips above the gauze, pulling it back, hissing from pain.

_Even through the bandages, she can still feel it?_ Jaune lamented.

"I..." Ruby's voice wavered again, "Jaune, how can I fight like this?" Ruby choked. "How can I be a huntress after this?" Pink tears seeped down her cheeks from beneath her bandages, and Jaune tried his best to wipe them away, but it was no use. The salt in Ruby's tears brought her more pain when they mixed with her wounds, which only led to more tears falling.

_Crap! _Jaune thought. _Think, think, think! Gotta get her to stop crying! Think!_

Suddenly, a faint memory started to make its way from the back of Jaune's mind.

"I know you'll find a way, Ruby." Jaune said gently. He wiped a stray tear from below her damp bandage with one hand, and gently squeezed hers with the other.

"How?" Ruby choked. She swallowed hard, mostly likely trying to clear the lumps from her throat. Her whole body was rigid, and Jaune could tell she was trying so hard not to cry. Throughout their entire journey together, this was the first time Jaune had seen Ruby cry.

"I know you can do it, Ruby, because I've seen it before." Jaune replies gently. He wipes away her stray tears with his fingers before starting the story.

"A friend of my father's was a metalsmith in our village. He made custom weapons and tools for the farmers. One day, there was an explosion at his forge, and he had taken the blast face first. He went completely blind, and was bedridden for months. But once he got back on his feet, he never let it stop him. His wife helped him train to listen to his surroundings as a way to orient himself. He told me that since his sight was gone, his hearing and his sense of touch became stronger to compensate. Eventually, he found a way to work again, as an artisan woodcarver."

"So what, I'll be a pro-woodcarver now?" Ruby huffs a laugh through her tears, attempted sarcasm evident in her weak voice.

"That wasn't the point I was trying to make," Jaune said. "The point was that he didn't believe that there was something wrong with him. He believed that he was just different than he used to be, and he could find a way to work with his difference. Ruby, I know that you'll find a way to become a huntress. You defied the odds once when you got into Beacon two years early. You defied the odds to become a team leader, when only a few people believed you deserved to be at Beacon. You defied the odds when you chose to go to Mistral, and continue your training as a huntress.

"Ruby, I know you won't let this stop you." Jaune emphasized this with a squeeze of her hand. "You're too stubborn to let anything stop you from achieving a dream you've worked so hard to attain."

Though her tears had stopped, Ruby still gave off an air of despair. "Yeah," Ruby said, nodding slowly. She sounded tired.

_Crying takes a lot out of you, _Jaune thought.

Silence enveloped the two, and Jaune devoted himself to listening to his surroundings as he watched the steady rise and fall of his friend's chest.

_There's still time, _Jaune thought. _There's still time, as long as she's breathing. She still has a chance. I'm not gonna lose another teammate_.

* * *

**-Yang-**

The woodshed smelled like greesh cut grass, sawdust, and motor oil. Over in the corder, there was a tool chest almost as tall as Ruby, which was filled with spare parts and accumulated hardware. In another corner was potting soil and yard equiptment, some of which looked recently used. Though they lived in the middle of the woods on a small island, Yang's father still liked to keep the lawn cut and tended to.

However, neither corner was what Yang was interested in. What had her attention was the object sitting in the dead center of it all.

The bike was covered in a long and wide gray sheet, put there to keep the dust and grim off of its yellow-orange paint job. Yang reached out with her organic hand, and pulled the sheet off the motorbike. A thin layer of dust wafted into the air, but when it settled, revealed Yang's beloved motorbike, Bumblebee.

_Hey, old friend, _Yang thought, _long time, no see. _

She stood there, taking in the condition of the bike. She hadn't ridded it since before the Fall of Beacon, and was questioning how much of a tune up it was due for.

"I don't remember saying that you were ready." Her dad's voice says behind her.

_Busted, _Yang thought, smiling wryly.

"Oh, yeah?" She said, turning to face her dad. "You gonna try and stop me?"

"No." Her dad laughs, smiling wryly and rubbing his shoulder, "I think I'm still too sore after our last spar." Too quickly, his smile falls, and he crosses his arms again as he leans against the doorframe. "I just wanted a better goodbye than a note." He said. "And...I also have a question." He stared off into space for a second, looking like he was about to broach a subject that he didn't want to discuss.

Yang looks at him expectantly, waiting for a number of possible questions that might pop out of his mouth.

"Where are you going?" Her father asks her. Though she's taken aback, Yang tries not to let it show on her face.

"What do you mean?" Yang asks, resting her real arm on her hip.

_This...this feels akward without two arms. _

But she didn't want to mess up the still-drying paint on her mechanical one, so she'd left it on the lawn.

_If I'd known I'd be getting into a cool-pose contest with my dad, I would've done that sooner so it'd dry faster. _

"I know Qrow's been telling you where you're mother's been at these days," her dad says, bringing her out of her thoughts, "despite me asking him not to," Taiyang rolled his eyes at the actions of her uncle.

"And we both know that your sister's headed to Mistral." Tai continued. He raises his arm, and holds out his hand into the air, like he was a waiter serving an invisible dish. "So, the question becomes this," He asks, "just where are you going?"

Once again, Yang's taken aback. She looks back at her bike, confusion no doubt in her glance.

_I have to go to Ruby, _Yang thought determinedly, _but...I know where my mom is now. _

Still she stared at the bike, as if it could give her all of her answers.

"I thought so." Her dad sighed from his place in the doorframe. "That's something you might want to think about before you go riding off into the sunset."

She heard creaking of wood, signaling that he father had left her along with her thoughts. Yang turned back around to face the bike head on, staring at the flawless and unfaded paint, smelling unused tires that begged to be worn out.

I_ have to go to Ruby,_ Yang thought,_ that much is certain...but for the first time in my life, Ican go to Mom and finally get some answers as to why she left. _

But her father's words still echoed in her mind like a tolling churchbell.

_That might be something you want to figure out before you go running off. _

* * *

**-Ruby-**

There was a rough scratchy material rubbing against her back. She could feel the bark from the tree underneath her clothes, a sensation the hadn't felt before. She could feel the grain of the wood so distinctively that it felt as if she were wearing nothing at all. The place they were at had a distinct smell to it-smoke, dust, mold, and something slightly metallic. Ruby didn't have to see it to know that this place was desolated.

She heard her uncle's voice, his raspy voice getting closer and closer. Boots crunched gravel, sharp metal was retracted into its sheath.

"There's only a few Beowolves in the surrounding areas." Her uncle said. "They don't look to be coming any closer than the outskirts, so-"

_**RRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!**_

The roar of a monster nearly split Ruby's eardrums in half.

"What the hell?" Qrow asked. "This place was clear when I checked it."

In the distance, far in the distance, Ruby picked up the sounds of rapid footsteps. Twigs snapped, leaves were strewn, and then there was the sound of shoes on cobblestones. And voices. She swore she could hear voices.

"Someone's coming." Ruby mumbled.

"What?" Jaune asks. "I don't-"

"Shush!" Qrow hisses.

The footsteps got closer and closer, and Ruby realized that the voices belonged to Ren and Nora. Only...Ren sounded worried. she could hear him whisper "Not again."

Then the footsteps stopped.

Only for the sound of rhythmic thundering in the distance.

**BA-Dum. **

**BA-DUM. **

Like before, these footsteps too were getting closer and closer. The smell of rotten eggs began to fill the air.

Though her eyes were useless, Ruby's sense as a huntress in training was still in tact. Adrenaline prickled through her veins, and she knew that there was trouble brewing. That a fight was approaching, whether they wanted one or not.

"Ren?" Ruby yelled. "Ren, what is it?"

She didn't mean "what's wrong". She meant "what are we facing."

The thundering was upon them now, and Ruby swore that the rhythm sounded much like a horse's trot.

There was the sound of disfigured cracking, of bones clicking in and out of place. A raspy voice screamed an incoherent noise that a sense of dread washed over her. Ruby knew what it was that had come for them.

_A Grimm._ She thought, reaching for her weapon before realizing that it wasn't there. Of_ all the times to face a Grimm, it's when I can't fight. _

As if the others knew what she were thinking, Ruby feels two hand come and pick her up, carrying her bridal style. From the feel of leather gloved hands and the feel of metal against her cheek, it was Jaune. A running motion causes her to bump against his armor, so Ruby tries to stay as still as she can.

"How big is it?" Ruby mumbles into his chest.

"Big." Jaune replies, not stopping his pace. He sets her down, leaning her back. Brick and stone rub against her backside, and she knows it must be a collapsed wall. "Don't worry," Jaune says, "we've got this. I just have to get you away from the fight."

Though she didn't want it to, though she understood that Jaune was only thinking of her safety and her situation, Ruby still felt hurt at that comment.

S_o I'm useless after all_, Ruby thought miserably. She turns away from the sound of Jaune's voice, breathing slowly thorugh her nose. Getting worked up would only get her more hurt, would only cause her more pain once the adrenaline wore off.

"Where's Crescent Rose?" Ruby asks aloud. "What?" Jaune asks, his voice closer. A thud signaled that he was probably kneeling down in front of her "Ruby, you don't-"

"Please, Jaune." Ruby says, "I need my weapon, Jaune. Please."

Jaune sighs, before a fumbling noise fills Ruby's ears, and the feel of cold , familiar metal is pressed into her hands.

"Please." Jaune says, "Only use it if you think yo absolutely have to."

"I promise." Ruby says.

"This will be over soon." Jaune says, gripping her shoulder gently. "And before yoy know it, we'll be in Haven-"

"Get out there, they need you!" Ruby says, shrugging his hand off, and waving towards the empty air, where the noises were coming from.

There's the sound of...was that a horse? If it was, it must've been the biggest horse that lived, because the sound was as deep and gravvely as a bear.

There are cracking noises, monstrous roars that threaten to make her ears bleed. Ruby grips her folded weapon with shaking hands, keeping frustrated tears behind her bandaged eyes.

_They need all the help they can get, _her mind told her, _and I'm forced to sit here and listen to thier screams. _

The gound rumbled beaneath her, trembling like an earthquake.

_Geeze, this thing must be huge! _

Suddenly, a chill ran through her veins. Icey prickes tickled the back of her neck, a sensation that she knew all too well. Though her eyes were useless, Ruby's sense as a huntress was alive and well. She knew it when the hairs on the back of her neck stoon on end. She knew is when a chill ran through her veins, harsh enough to make her flinch.

She knew that there was something behind her.

On the other side of the wall.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN _RWBY_!**

**Look Not with the Eyes **

**by thrillerartist**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Instinct **

**-Ruby-**

The chill than ran through her wasn't an unfamiliar sensation to Ruby. It was part of her instincts as a huntress, what all her training had prepared her to do-knowing when she was in danger, and predict where it was coming from. Ruby's instincts had rarely ever failed her, but they were not infallible-the events of the Fall of Beacon had proven that much to her.

But still, the adrenaline coursing through her wasn't without cause. Ruby knew that there was a dangerous monster behind her, only separated from her by a rough-textured wall. The smell of sulfur engulfed her nose, and it was strongest at that exactmoment. Gripping Crescent Rose with one arm, Ruby put her hand to the ground with the other. The ground gave off soft tremors _Breathe,_ Ruby thought. _Focus._

In her mind, Ruby could see visual of a dark figure looming above her.

She knows whatever Grimm came after them was behind her. She could hear the shouts of her friends that confirmed it.

"RUBY!" Qrow shouted in his gravelly voice. The sounds of quickening footsteps began to get louder and louder

Ruby felt the ground shift beneath her fingers, a soft vibration on her right, meaning that whatever Grimm this was raised an appendage on its right side, which meant that it would be attacking from the right. Most likely.

Ruby found herself breathing in and out, slowly, to calm her nerves. Almost immediately, her heartrate had slowed to a gentler throb, helped by the fact that she had her trusty weapon in hand. The extention of herself should never be apart from her, and most likely never would be again. In a life that was now filled with darkness and fear, Ruby would cling to whatever (now metaphorical) light she could grasp.

The stench of sulfur was so strong now that it seemed to fill her pores, giving her a headache.

Suddenly, the feeling that'd suddenly balled up in Ruby's stomach screamed DUCK! Following her insticts, and clutching her weapon to her chest, Ruby rolled out and away to the right of the wall. A trememdous **BOOM! **racked her eardrums, and she felt bits of gravel rained down on her back, feeling like hail against her skin.

Ruby rolled onto her side, getting to her knee, her hands moving Crescent Rose into its semi-automatic rifle position.

_There goes another building, I guess, _Ruby surmised as she listened to her surroundings. She clutched her weapong in her hands, feeling her calloused hands and fingers run over the smoothe metal of Crescent Rose. instinctively, Ruby's right hand cluched the trigger and hand, while her left cupped the front of the rifle, holding it steady.

_**RAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAA! **_

The hissing roar of the unseen monster cause Ruby's hair to be blown back, and her face filled with hot, smelly monster breath. The temperature seemed to have dropped in front of her.

Though Ruby could smell and feel the danger in the air, her heartbeat remained steady, if fast.

_I always _did_ say I could use this thing blindfolded, _Ruby thought. She heard the crunch of gravel and broken stones in front of her. The sulfurous smell was almost unbearable, a sign that the Grimm was right in front of her. She could sense it leering over her, a dark shadow creeping into her already dark world. Ruby did the thing that most came naturally in a fight.

She aimed her weapon to the presence in front of her, and shot in the direction of the beast. The telltale **POP! **of the rifle, combined with the familiar kickback of the gun made Ruby feel the closest thing to normal since her attack.

At first there was silence, befpre hot and damp breath blew right into her face like the gust of a tornado, blowing her hair back and away from her face.

Then the presence of the monster shifted, and Ruby found that she wasn't able to find it again. A bolt of anxiety shot through her, before two calloused hands grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her to her feet.

"Let's get out of here!" Her Uncle's voice shouts, picking her up in a fireman's carry.

"Did I hit it?" Ruby asks from her uncle's shoulder as he ran away from her previous position...wherever that was.

"Yeah" her Uncle replied, "and you just MAJORLY pissed it off!"

When Ruby was set down again, she put her hand on the ground, feeling rough stone, as well as something damper...and a little slimier.

_Must be an alleyway, _Ruby guessed. She remembered the spaces between the buildings of Vale were like this when there wasn't enough sunlight or proper maitenance.

"Stay here!" Her uncle orders her, gripping her shoulders before letting her go in a hurry. His footsteps became softer and softer, leaving Ruby alone once again.

_Not like there's much else I can do. _Because though she may have hit the Grimm, Ruby knew that it was out of pure luck. She was in the wrong place at the right time, and she only shot it because it was leering down on her. Nothing more, nothing less.

From afar, she heard sounds of metal clashing against metal, cries of anger and fear, but they were mere whimpers when compared to the shrieks of the Grimm.

**WRAAAAAAAAAA!**

The sound of metal hitting flesh followed suite.

_**WRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**_

The smell of sulfur began to rise, filling Ruby's nose and causing her to gag on it as she breathed. Suddenly, there was another sound of metal against flesh, and the smell began to dissipate. Soon, Ruby found herself breathing normal musty air.

_It's gone. _Ruby surmised. _They killed it! _

Relief washed over Ruby, and she relished in the release of pent up anxiety.

_Now we can finally go to...go to..._

"AH!" Ruby cried in surprise, and she brought her hands to her face, clutching the sides of her head. It felt as if someone were driving Ember Cecelia into her skull repeatedly, and her eyes felt like they were trying to both explode and retract into thier sockets at the same flashes began to radiate through her system, causing Ruby to feel feverish one moment, and freezing cold the next. Worse of all, her nose and throat felt like they were on fire. The roaring flames in the back of her mouth were again relit causing her to cough and hack like an old man.

Instinctively, she put her hand over her mouth, and felt something wet trickle between her lips. Ruby tasted metallic fluid on her tongue, and smelled its copper scent on her skin. There was another taste, too, something bitter and acidic.

_W__hatever that is, _Ruby thought as she took a deep breath, trying to dampen the flames in another way, _it's not good... _

Her once manageable heartrate began to flutter, causing her breath to hitch. Ruby fought to get in an easy breath, but had no such luck. She kept taking in any air she could in the short and shallow breaths.

Ruby suddenly felt dizzy and lighteaded. Cold and heat flashed through her system like a lightswitch being turned off and on at random.

_Uncle...Qrow..._, Ruby thought. _Jaune...help..._

Her consciousness felt like a string tied to a balloon, and felt like it was going to snap any moment.

She could barely hear anything aside from the blood pounding through her head, though she feelt herself being carried, being talked to.

"We're going...Mistral...hold on..."

Throughout it all, she felt a hand grip hers tight. With the little strength she could myster, Ruby squeezed it back, letting whoever it was know that she was still there.

And then, things faded into black.

* * *

**-Jaune- **

He entered the room to check on her once again. Warm sunlight was peeking in through the curtains, giving the room a natural lighting that make aftificial lights unecessary. There was a lone figure on the bed, bundled in layers of blankets and resting comfortably.

It'd been nearly two days since they'd been rescued, and Ruby still had yet to wake up. He walked around the bed, and put his bare hand gently on her forehead. Her raging fever had finally broken last night, yet Jaune still found himself checking it, just in case it managed to creep back into her. It reasurred him when he put his hand on her, that he could feel her pulse and her breath, know that she was still alive. She was one of his best friends, and he had nearly lost her.

But he had also been able to save her.

They'd been picked up by a Mistrali scouting ship who'd come to Kuroyuri after seeing the smoke from the fight. The Mistrali forces gace Ruby much needed first aid, and rushed her to the hospital after they landed safely in the kingdom. The doctors ahd administered heavy doses of Tyrian's venom, and performed repair surgery on Ruby's eyes. They were able to save them after they'd administered an expermental dust treatment to repair the parts that were too damaged to fix. When Qrow had asked the surgeons if Ruby would ever see again, he could only shake his head.

"It's impossible to know until the wounds have healed and the infection has been stayed." The doctor had said. "Both should be resolved once her aura is replenished. One thing's for sure, though: if she _does_ manage to see after this, it won't be like she used to. If that's the case, then most likely she'll have severely limited vision, almost to be point of being classified as blind."

_She's alive. _Jaune thought. _You were able to save someone this time, that's all that matters. _

The memory of Pyrrah shoving him in his locker flashed through his mind. She hadn't allowed him to help her...but this time, there was no other choice _but _to help Ruby.

Jaune reached out to cup Ruby's face in his hand, but stopped himself before he could touch her.

_She's fine now, _Jaune told himself, _her fever's down, you don't have to keep checking it. _

Jaune drew his hand back, turning to face the window instead. It was the beginning of the fall, and warm sunlight was peeking through the curtains. Jaune listened carefully, caring his ears to listen to distant birdsongs.

"Mhmmm." Ruby stirred on the bed.

Jaune turned around, seeing his friend roll onto her side, unknowingly bathing her face in sunlight.

"Hey Ruby" Jaune says quietly, not wanting to scare her.

"Jaune?" Ruby asks, moving her head towards the sound of his voice. All that stared back at Jaune was a half-bandaged face, and a confused frown.

"Jaune, where are we?" Ruby asks.

Jaune walks closer to Ruby, and sits on the side of her bed. He pats the bed so that she'd know where he was.

"We're in Mistral." Jaune says. "A scouting ship saw the smoke from the village we were at, and came to rescue us. They were just in time, too. The doctors were able to give you an antidote for Tyrian's venom, and repair most of the damage to your eyes.

For a few moments, it's only silent, and Jaune thinks that maybe he said to much at once, before Ruby's lips curled into a small smile.

She chuckles, snuggling into her pillow. "Strange." She says. "Aren't I the one who's always saving _you_?"

Jaune smirks at her words, and chuckles tohimself, relieved that Ruby still had her sense of humor, at least.

"Jaune?" Ruby asks.

"Yes?"

"Can you...Can you do me a favor?" Ruby asked quietly from the bed. Her eyes and forehead were still bandaged, but Jaune could imagine the expression on the upper half of her face would almost be embarassment. "I want to write a letter to Yang..." Ruby said, her voice still slightly gravelly from sleep. "She's probably really worried about me..."

"Of course." Jaune said, walking towards the desk, and pulling open its drawers. He rifled through them until he was able to find a pad aof paper and a pen. He held them in one hand, and dragged the chair over by the bed with his other. He positioned himself in fron of Ruby, and clicked the pen to signal her that he was ready.

"Alright", Jaune said, "what would you like to say?"

Ruby let out a small sigh, bringing her hand up to rest on her bandaged face. He smiled when she didn't flinch away, knowing that most of the pain was gone.

"Let's start with "Hey, Sis. I hop my letters have been reaching you and Dad..."

* * *

**-Oscar- **

The man at the barstool had clearly been there a while. He was descheveled, hunched over the counter, radiating an air of drunken despair. Normally, Oscar would have steered clear of a place like this. Normally, Oscar would have steered clear of a _person_ like this. Upon further examination, Oscar saw that he had some sort of bladed weapon strapped to the small of his back.

_No way! NO! _Oscar screamed internally. _I'm not going up and saying crazy things to an armed drunk guy! I'm going home! _

However, Oscar couldn't deny the intrigue that's been plaguing his system for years. Though he wanted to go home, back to his aunt and his farm, Oscar knew that the sense of a higher purpose that's been lit inside of him for as long as he could remember couldn't be pushed aside any longer.

But that didn't mean he didn't still want to go home.

_What am I even doing here?! _Oscar foudn himself questioning for the thousandth time that day. His feet were rooted to the floor where he stood. Oscar couldn't make them move neither towards the man at the bar, nor towards the door to this dive.

**_Calm down, _**The Voice in Oscar's head said. _**Just walk up to him, and ask for your cane back. He'll understand, no matter how drunk he is. If he doesn't...then we can both go home. **_

_Doesn't really make me feel better, _Oscar indernally snapped back at The Voice.

_**Just walk up to him. He has a soft spot for children, so he won't hurt you. **_

_Fine! _

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Oscar took one tentative step towards the drunken man, cringing at the _thunk-thunk_ sound his workboots made on the hardwood floors.

"Excuse me..." Oscar said once he got within a little arms reach of the man. If this turned out to be the wrong guy, Oscar wanted to be able to get away quickly.

The man turned around, giving Oscar a raspy-bearded frown, and a red-eyed stare of doubt. The man was in his late thirties-at least-and was very well built. A red cape was tied around his neck, for some reason. It was too short to provide any sense of warmth, so Oscar assumed it was either for show, or sentimental value.

The man frowned at Oscar. "You know, I don't think they allow kids in here, Pipsqueak." He said. Oscar smelled something strong on his breath, and heard a slight slur in his raspy voice.

Oscar's throat seemed to close up, his stomach doing flips from the tension and nervousness within him.

**_Ask him for your cane back, _**The Voice said.

"Shut up, I'm getting there." Oscar whispered in exhasperation. He saw the man raise an eyebrow at his behavior.

"Ummm..." Oscar stammered. He gulped before saying, "I'm supposed to tell you...I'd like my cane back?"

THe man raised his eyebrows in surprise, before nodding his head, and smiling before standing up from his barstool.

Oscar instinctively took a step back form the man, who was _much _taller than Oscar thought he'd be.

The man pulled something from his belt, before tossing it to Oscar. Instinctively, Oscar cought it between his hands, squeezing the handle, and watched as a staff almost the length of his legs extended out from it.

The man tilted his head, smiled in what looked like relief, and said "It's good to see you again, Oz."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, I know I haven't written in a LOOONNNGGG time, but that's what happens when you're at school. EZPECIALLY when it's during final exams! So, to save myself a lot of time, I've been working on multiple chapters at a time, so that I can post more regularly without having to worry about where to start. **

**For all of you who are students going through finals, hang in there! It's almost over, and then we get a break for a couple weeks! The semester finish line is in our sights, so don't lose steam now! **

**As always, I'd like to than the people who commented and reviewed the story. You guys all have great things to say, and for you readers just joining the story, know that I'm always open to constructive criticism. **

**Have a safe and Happy Holidays! **

**-thrillerartist **


	5. Chapter 5

**I DO NOT OWN RWBY! **

**Look not with the Eyes **

**by thrillerartist **

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so, I caught a bad virus, and am practically bedridden, so I have a lot of free time to write now (LOL)! This chapter took a long time to create, especially because I had to choose which scenes from the actual episodes I had take out or leave in. Not to mention the resesarch I had to do on how people with visual impairments learn get around on thier own. Ruby will be getting more and more independent in the chapters to come, I will say, but for now, she's still healing, and still adapting to her newfound condition.**

**We also see Ruby, for the first time, tell the story of her attack. **

**-thrillerartist **

* * *

**Chapter 5: Defying the Odds**

_There is an old idea from not long ago, that people who had lost one of their five senses would miraculously have the remaining four grow stronger. Scientists believed it was part of the human survival system-a chance to even the odds that were stacked against them in a primal world. _

_Stories of heroes conquering the battlifield, even though rendered blind or deaf when they were young, were among many of the stories my sister had read to me growing up. _

_I wanted to be like them. A hero who would save the day, against all odds. _

_I never really thought just how many odds would end up being stacked against me, though. _

_At Signal, I was declared ludicrous for wanting to weild a weapon that was heavier and taller than I was. Everyone thought that I should use a more "practical" weapon, one that was tuned more towards my size. But I stuck to my guns. I spent hours and hours in the school workshop, and at home, testing, altering, and re-testing my Crescent Rose. My ultimate weapon. Time and time again, until it was perfect._

_At Beacon, I was the smallest, the youngest, the least mature in comparison to all others (well, except for Jaune). But I still ended up being selected the leader of my team. Hours of studying, training, to prove everyone wrong. Fighting tooth and nail to show them that I was meant to be a Beacon. __I used to say that as a leader, I wasn't allowed to fail. I wasn't allowed to let people down. The weight of that responsibility was crushing, but I shouldered it the best that I could. And I did. _

_And then Beacon fell, and my team fell apart with it. Fine. If I couldn't attend Beacon, then I'd finish what my team and I started at another academy. I'd go to Haven. I'd go to Atlas if I needed to! If a war was really coming, then Remnant would need every fighter there was. I would get to the bottom of why my school was attacked. I'd make the deaths of all my friends mean something, other than just a tragedy that shouldn't have happened. _

_ No one wanted me to go. No one wanted me in danger again. My own sister said that running away was a stupid idea. _

_Now, I wonder if she was right. __The odds are stacked against me once again, in the worst possible way. _

_And I don't know if I can defy them this time._

* * *

**-Nora-**

She and Ren were lounging on the couch in thier new apartment in Mistral. Silence enveloped the room, neither one wanting to talk. Jaune was reading to Ruby in the other room, and she could hear his voice down the hall. The past few days had been filled with so much chaos that a few moments of absolute silence was welcome, even to Nora. Though a part of her ached to start training once again, she had to admit that it was nice to be able to relax for a little while, not worrying about a threat looming over her shoulder. Amidst all the chaos and heartache that had been going on in such a short time, Nora was glad to finally be able to sit and relax for a short while...especially if it meant she'd get a chance to be alone with Ren!

They were sitting, side-by-side on the couch, hands just mere inches away from each other. Oh, how perfect it would be if-

A knock on the front door interrupts Nora's thoughts. Ren, to Nora's disappointment, got up to open it, revealing a short, green-eyed boy who looked as if he were about to tuck tail and run at any moment. That was enough to set Nora on edge. Immediately, her shoulders grew taught, and her eyes locked on to this stranger at their door, waiting for any signs of danger.

The boy gulps as Red looks down at him. "Can I help you?" Ren asks the boy.

The boy gulps again, and asks, "Is..it there a Ruby Rose here?" He was wringing his hands nervously.

All the alarm bells inside of Nora's head began to ring at that question. She got to her feet, and narrowed her eyes at the boy in suspicion.

"Why?" Ren asks. His voice sounds calm, but Nora has known Ren long enough to know when he wants to be threatening. The hint of tension underlying his voice told her Ren suspected the same thing Nora did.

The boy squirms nervously, and stammers "Well...you see-"

Before the boy can further explain himself, a loose and smiling Qrow grabs the nervous boy the shoulders before stumbling into the house cackling.

"I think her uncle needs some help." The boy said, smiling shyly.

Nora watched as Ren stepped back from the doorway, his hand still on the nob. Qrow staggered further into the house, stopping at the other couch so he could sprawl himself out on it.

"I FOUND HIM!" Qrow gasped excitedly, pumping one fist in victory. " I FOUND HIM!"

"What is going on out there!" A shrill voice calls. Nora recognized Ruby's voice, and heard footsteps getting closer and closer.

Ruby stormed into the living room-well, as much as she could while having Jaune guide her- and shouted "Can't a girl listen to Jaune reading comics in peace?!"

Qrow then burped, expelling the acidic smell of booze into the air. Ruby realxed at the sound, sniffed, and groaned in exasperation.

"Qrow, did you get drunk again?" Ruby sighs.

"Maybe...?" Qrow chuckles from his position on the couch.

"Oh..."

Nora turns back towards the door, and sees the boy staring at Ruby in confusion. With all the commotion, it was easy to forget that he was her primary concern at the moment.

"You...you have silver eyes, don't you?" The boy asks, stepping into the doorway.

Ruby let go of Jaune's shoulder, and stepped towards the middle of the room. Nora realized that she was following the sound of the boy's voice.

"Who...who are you?" Ruby asks, staring ahead at nothing.

Qrow laughed from the couch. "Wait for it..." He said with a laugh and a smile.

"Uh, well," The boy says, grabbing his arm in a show of discomfort, "my name is Oscar Pine." He raises his eyes to address the room. The words he said next blew Nora's mind so much that it gave her a headache.

"But you'd probably know me os Professor Ozpin."

* * *

**-Yang- **

She should have been on edge. She should have been weary. But she wasn't. Yang was angry-she always seemed to be these days.

Most importantly, Yang was fed up.

She was being led to her mother's bandit camp but the very people she'd beaten senseless in the woods.

_This is the second time you've ever seen her, _Yang thought to herself, _and the first time was only to save your hide from an enemy's sword...and it sure as hell wasn't Adam's._

Qrow and her father had both explained that Raven was a complicated person. Tai claimed she fought for what she believed in, for what she thought needed to be done. Qrow told her that Raven believed the only way to survive was to be strong, or to follow those who were. And that when it came to weakness, Raven would rather watch from afar than help.

Either way, it still stung for Yang that her mother hadn't been there at the Fall of Beacon. She could go anywhere, be there whenever she sensed someone she bonded with was in danger. Did she really choose to look the other way during Yang's fight with Adam?

_Qrow warned you once, _Yang thought. _Raven wouldn't help you out a second time._

Circled by bandits she'd personally beaten to a pulp, Yang was marched up to a giant canvas tent that looked like something from an expedition movie. At the center of the camp was a wooden platform, which help a giant tent. Crates were stacked haphazardly around the perimiter of the platform and the tent, and ropes were looped all around the tent itself to secure it. Two small wooden steps led up to the platform, the perfect soapbox for the leader to rant on.

Yang expecting her mother to come out an order her to be held prisoner. She expected her mother to come out snarling and screaming like a wild animal. She expected her mother to ask her "How dare you come and find me when I made it so clear I wanted you to stay away?!" That would've been fine. That's what Yang expected from the woman who abandoned her at birth.

Anything else would have been fine. Anything but what actually happened.

Raven came out of her tent wearing a Grimm mask that took up her head like a helmet. Not even her eyes could be seen. The only sign of her was the locks of midnight black hair that hung down to her waist. It was a mask Yang recognized all too well, because it was the same one Raven wore when she saved Yang from being killed by Neo.

When Raven took off the mask, she looked almost...happy. The ghost of a smile graced her face. Her crimson eyes lit up slightly, before dimming again with stoic composure.

"So, sfter all this time, you've finally decided to visit me." Raven says, resting her mask on one of hte crates, and walked a few steps toward the edge of her platform. She wore a red tunic and black short shorts with black combat boots with leggings that extended above her mid-thighs. Her black hair was the color of midnight, and was just as wild and unruly as Yang's. But what struck Yang the most wasn't how much she looked like her mother. No.

It was the words that came out of her mother's mouth.

_Visit...her..._Yang thought in fury. She took a few calming breaths to settle her anger. Her left hand started to tremble furiously, so she grabbed it with her new metallic right hand to stop it.

"You _know _that I searched for you." Yang said stiffly. "I spent years looking for you."

"And you found me." Raven said, sounding the tiniest bit proud. "You were patient, determined, and strong enough to make your dream a reality." This time, Raven did smile, albeit slightly. "Well done, Yang." The small smile grew into a crooked smirk. "But did you have to be so rough with my men?"

_Is she...trying to make a joke?_ Yang thought increduously. _Seriously?_

"I didn't want to fight. _They_ started it."

"Well you certainly finished it." Raven said, still wearing that half-smile on her pale face.

Yang just stared back at her mother in silence, tired of pleasantries, and tired of her little game of "family reunion". She had somewhere else to be.

Raven's smile falls, and she stands up straighter. "Right." She says, addressing the crowd of tribespeople that have accumulated around them. "I'm sure this is all very overwhelming." Raven continued. "But I must admit that you've proven yourself. Any questions you have, I'll be happy to answer. You can stay with us tonight, and I'll have the cooks make something for you-"

"I'm not here for _you_." Yang stated calmly.

"What was that?" Raven snapped coldly, obviously not used to being interupted.

"Ruby's somewhere in Mistral," Yang started, "and Qrow's with her. She's going to need my help. I just need _you_ to take me to her." Yang put her hands on her hips and stared at her mother in defiance. Raven looked away from her, arms crossed.

"And why would I do that?" She asked in an uninterested tone.

"Because we're family." Yang put her hands over her heart, a mock gesture.

Raven scoffed and turned away. "Family-only comes around when they need something." Raven turns back to face Yang. "I have to say I'm disappointed in you. After all, you found me. Why not take that drive and use it to find your precious little sister?"

Maybe it was time to appeal to Raven's logical side, instead of her depleted emotions.

"Because _you'll_ save me time." Yang explained, holding her ground. "Ruby was headed to Mistral, but there's no gurantee if she's made it there yet. Finding her could take ages. But..." Yang smirked, "Dad told me how your semblance works."

Yang relished in the disappointed frown that creased Raven's face.

"You can bond to certain people." Yang continued. "And when you do, you can open portals that lead to wherever they are. You have one for me, Dad, and Qrow."

Raven glared at Yang, attempting to get her to shut up. Had Yang actually respected or feared Raven, she probably would have. Unfortuantely for Raven, Yang had no reason to respect her.

"Qrow promised he'd look after Ruby." Yang said. "And I trust that wherever he is, Ruby is, too. So, make a portal to my uncle and sister, and I'll be on my way." Yang put her hands on her hips, and stares at her mother cooly.

"How noble of you to want to help your sister." Raven stated. "I must admit, it's very admirable. But if she's with Qrow, she's already a lost cause."

"What does that mean?" Yang snapped.

"You don't want to get mixed up in this, Yang." Raven says, staring off into space. "Ozpin is not who you think he is, and your uncle's a fool for trusting him. I should know." Raven focused her eyes back on Yang, and gave her a confident look, "So maybe before you wander off into something that's too big for you to handle, instead of looking for where you want to be, maybe you should ask yourself if you're _already_ where you belong."

Yang didn't even have to think about that offer. "Save your breath. You can spout off whatever you want, but _nothing_ is going to keep me from my sister."

Raven crosses her arms, and gives Yang a pitying smile, like she was talking to a child who didn't know any better. "Well, aren't you stubborn," she says.

Yang crosses her arms, and cocks a hip. "I get it from my mom." She says, deadpan.

For a moment, they stare each other down, almost daring one to look away.

Raven is the one who breaks the silence. "Well if that's how you feel, we're done here." She turns her back on Yang, and walks toward the flap of her tent. "Take her away." Raven orders her men.

White hot fury engulfs Yang. She uncrosses her arms, and looks around, seeing herself being circled again by Raven's not-so-merry band of thieves.

"Did you not here me?" Yang yells at Raven. "I said send me to Qrow, damnit!"

"Watch your mouth!" On of the bandits shoutes at Yang. "Don't talk to out leader that way!"

Yang clenches her fits, and snaps quietly, "Make me!"

The instigator charges, and Yang ducks under him, punching him in the gut while his arms are over her head. The force sends him flying into a tent, which collapses under his weight, and reveals a wood and metal cage behind it. There was a girl standing inside of it, gripping the bars in either fear or surprise.

"Yang?" A familiar voice calls.

Yang would know that shrill and whiney voice anywhere. She turns around to face the cage, and stares in surprise. "_Weiss_?" Yang replies.

_Why the hell is Weiss here?!_ Yang thought._ Isn't she supposed to be in Atlas?!_

Yang watches in shock as Weiss turns around, just as something white and glowing grows from the inside of the cage. The cage exploads from the inside, and what looks like-WHAT THE HECK, IS THAT A GIANT WHITE KNIGHT?!-stands above the encampment. Everyone stares up at it in shock.

Well, everyone except for Weiss.

Weiss came running out from the cage towards Yang. She stood back-to-back with Yang, eyes in front, facing the pissed-face bandits that surrounded them.

"What the hell is that?" Yang asked.

"Don't worry about it." Weiss hisses. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"Well, _that's_ my mom, and she can take us to Ruby." Yang nods towards Raven, who's staring at them in a very unimpressed manor. One of her hands is gripping the hilt of her sword, eyes almost curious at what was going to happen next.

"Your _mom _kidnapped me?!" Wess yelled at Yang.

Shock and anger shot through Yang. "You_ kidnapped_ her?!" She yelled accusingly at Raven.

The fight was beginning to pick up, and the bandits started yelling and jeering, quickly closing thier circle around Yang at Weiss.

_This is turning bad quickly. _Yang thought.

Yang pivots on her heels, faces the knight, and starts running towards the crowd, anticipating a fight. Weiss follows behind her.

Yang could practically taste the violence in the air. She reared back her fist, ready to crash it against any offender's skull-

_**CRASH! **_

A bolt of lighting struck the ground, stopping the fight before it truly began.

"ENOUGH!" Raven roared. "If you people don't get it together, this place will be swarmed with Grimm in no time!" Raven faces a punk looking girl with short hair. "Give the girl her weapon back." Raven orders.

The punk tosses Weiss's rapier into her hands, and Weiss catches it as gently as she can.

"You two," Raven directs towards Yang and Weiss, "get in my tent. Now."

"Why?" Yang snaps. She didn't trust anything that came out of her mother's mouth. She only trusted that she could help her get to Ruby.

"If you want to go after your sister so bad, you might as well know the truth." Raven disappears behind the tent flap.

Yang retracts her gauntlets, and takes a deep breath, calming her nerves.

Yang turns towards Weiss. "Sorry about-"

A pair of long, lithe arms wrapped around Yang's neck and shoulders.

"I've missed you so much." Weiss chokes, burying her face into Yang's shoulder.

For a while, Yang is shocked at her old friend's show of emotion. Weiss was usually the stoic one in the group, and one who always bottled herself up to keep her composure. The fact that Weiss Schnee-the Ice Queen-was hugging her, just showed Yang how much Yang thier time at Beacon meant to Weiss.

Yang returns the hug. "I missed you, too." She says.

* * *

**-Ruby-**

Ruby knew that there was a new person in the room, a younger person. He sounded like he was still going through puberty.

_No way that he's Professor Ozpin, _Ruby thought. _Ozpin died at the Fall of Beacon, and this kid is too young to be him even if he didn't. _

When the boy claimed his name was Oscar Pine, Ruby felt her suspicions spike through the roof. Why was a boy who sounded so young knocking on thier door at night?

As Ruby's thoughts were wandering off, her uncle's sobered-up voice brought her back to reality.

"I think if would make more sense if you just showed them, kid."

Ruby heard a sigh, assumingly coming from the strange boy. "Just so you know," The boy said, sounding unsure, "I'll still be here."

There was the sound of a deep breath, and then nothing but silence for a few moments.

The voice that spoke again wasn't Oscar's teenage vocal pattern became slow and matured, the voice of a highly educated and wisened person.

He sounded like a grown man, like a teacher...

"I must say that it is very good to see all of you again." Oscar/Ozpin said. Ruby could almost hear the smile in his voice. "I just wish it weren't under such poor circumstances."

Ruby wished she could see his face, see the sincereity in his eyes. Instead, all she saw was darkness, and all she could hear was the sound of Oscar's-er,_ Ozpin's_-voice.

"Miss Rose." Ozpin/Oscar said. "May I ask what became of your eyes?"

Ruby drew her hand up, lingering over her still-bandaged eyes. The infection had been stayed, and there was no longer any venom in her system. But the damage done was permanent.

"We were attacked." Jaune spoke up for her, which slightly irritated Ruby. Though she knew he was only trying to spare her reliving the trauma of Tyrian's wrath, she only lost her sight, not her ability to speak.

"We were traveling through the woods on out way to Mistral." Jaune continued. "And we came to this abandoned village, when-"

"When a rogue hunstman named Tyrian came and kidnapped me." Ruby interrupted Jaune. She tightened the hand that still rested on his shoulder, squeezing it to tell him "I'm alright, I can do this, you don't need to tell him for me".

"We were overpowered after he through a flashing," Ruby continued, struggling to keep her voice steady. Her heartrate felt like it was quickening, and her throat was threatening to close in. If Ruby could still see the room, she was sure if would be getting darker. However, Ruby was determined to tell her former teacher her story. It was hers, after all.

"He said he wanted to take me to his queen," Ruby continued, "and...he..."

Ruby's throat closed up, can could feel her heart in her ears. She felt gloved fingers wrap around her free one.

_Jaune, it has to be Jaune. He's the only one who wears gloves. _

The gentle squeeze, the warmth of his hand, it gave her the strength to continue.

"He knocked me out," Ruby said. "Then he tied me up and took me into the woods. We were walking in the opposite direction from where we'd come. I...I tried to escape from him. I almost did."

Ruby felt something warm at the corner of her useless eyes. Tears.

_More tears._

Ruby felt her breath pick up, and Jaune's thumb began to rub its thumb across her knuckles.

"But he caught up with me again." Ruby silently cried through her words. She was not going to melt down here, not in front of everyone. She could save her tears for another time, she could save her sadness for another time. Couldn't she?

"He had me pinned against a tree. And...he cut my eyes with his stinger." Ruby finished. She couldn't say any more. She couldn't think about it anymore. She didn't want to.

"I see," Ozpin said. "I am truly and sincerely sorry that you had to endure all of that, Ms. Rose. At such a young age, as well." Ruby heard a heavy sigh. "I feel like this is partly my fault. If I had anticipated the attack on Beacon, I would have taken greater measures to protect Vale. If Beacon had not fallen, none of you would be here. All I can say now, is that I'm sorry that I failed you all." Another heavy sigh. "Add another mistake to my centuries long list." He said ruefully.

"Speaking of that..." Jaune said. He slowly let go of Ruby's hand. Ruby felt the comfort of his fingers slip through hers, and with it, all her courage. Her throat felt sore from unshed tears, and the pointless struggle to keep her voice even.

"What, exactly, are you?" Jaune asked.

"I'm...cursed," Ozpin said sadly. "For thousands of years, I've walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating in the form of a like-minded soul. The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form, and clearly wasn't my last. It's...and extroardinarily strenuous process on everyone involved."

"So who, what...are you?" Ren asked.

"I am the combination of countless men who've spent thier lives trying to protect the people of Remnant. With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another and I am changed, but my memories stay with me."

Ruby smells fresh, black coffee enter the room. The steaming aroma wafted through the air, reminding her of the time Weiss made her coffee while she was studying.

"This curse was bestowed upon me by the gods because I'd failed to stop Salem in the past." Ozpin said. "But we must stop her now."

"And just how do we do that?" Nora asked.

"We start..." Ozpin said, emphasis in his words. There was the soft sound of footsteps across the room. "We start be ensuring the safety of the Relic of Knowledge."

There are many things we have to do in order to complete that task. Most importantly, we have to keep my merging with Oscar close-to-chest until we know who to trust. Here are the steps to take moving forward. One: we need to start gathering more allies, enlisting more huntsman. Two: You four need to get into fighting shape for Haven Academy."

"But, uh, we already know how to fight." Jaune said, sounding confused."

Suddenly, there's a whipping sound in the air, like something was swung at a high rate of speed. Ruby felt like there was something right in front of her face, though she didn't know how she'd guess that.

"Mr. Arc," Ozpin said, "I'm sorry to say that you have yet to unlock your semblance. All four of you have a ways to go in order to be ready in the fight against Salem. And you, Ms. Rose...I'm sorry, I truly am about your unfortunate situation. However, I am confident I can reteach you the skills you need in hand-to-hand combat.

That caught Ruby's attention. "Uh, what?" She stammered.

"You've lost your ability to attack, so you're going to be taught you how to defend yourself and anticipate your opponent's attacks based on your ability to feel and hear."

"But...how are you going to teach me that?" Ruby asked.

Suddenly, there was a thudding motion, and a whiping sound in the air again.

"Well...I was the headmaster of Beacon Academy. Do you think you're the first blind student who's attended?"

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ****_RWBY _**

**Look Not with the Eyes **

**by thrillerartist**

* * *

**Chapter 6: I Refuse**

_I'm not the first person who's ever lost something. I lost my mother when I was barely old enough to remember her face. My father lost something more, though. He lost the second person he'd loved. My sister lost two mothers-one who abandoned her, and one who disappeared. _

_I've lost a lot of things the past few months, but I'm not the only one. My team lost each other. Two of my friends were killed, one to make a statement, and another fighting in defense of Vale. I lost my school, and the professor who saw more potential in me than any person I'd ever met. _

_And now, I've lost my sight. Stolen by a madman who wanted to see me beg and scream for my life. _

_Yet, I'm still here, despite it all. Why is that? Why do I insist on pressing on? __A small part of me doesn't want to fight anymore. A small part of me wants to turn around and go home, to let someone else fight this war. _

_But there's this calling, this _voice_ inside of me that's telling me to push on. To keep moving forward, to endure._

_I'm not the only one who lost something after the Fall of Beacon. I'm not the _last_ person who will ever lose anything, either.__Because if we gave up every time we lost something, we would never get anywhere._

* * *

**-Jaune- **

He stood with his back against the wall, watching the two youngest members of his new team spar. Currently, Oscar (who by this point had allowed Ozpin to take full control), had Ruby in a tight headlock. Ruby was trying to wrestle out of his grip, but Oscar was stronger than he looked.

_Us farmboys have more muscle than people give us credit fore, _Jaune thought amusedly. _ And it seems that Ruby's as eager as ever to train. _

The day before, the bandages around Ruby's eyes had finally been able to come off, and once they did, she'd wanted to get back into sparring. Everyone had told her that there was no shame in taking more time to adjust, to which Ruby had boldly said "I can't just sit around and mope at being blind forever. Things are going to happen whether I'm ready to fight or not,".

To Jaune, though, he was just glad to see that Ruby hadn't lost her fighting spirit.

"Ruby's picking this up really fast." Jaune comments with a smile, crossing his arms. Nora gives him a sideways glance, and smirks at him.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, nothing." Nora smile, leaning on her hammer. Ren, the ever silent one in their group, was meditating in the corner, legs crossed and eyes closed in concentration.

"When your opponent has you from behind," Ozpin/Oscar's voice said to Ruby (Jaune still found it a little creepy how the two different voices would mosulate on top of each other), "You want to use all the leverage in your body to get them to let go of you. Use your hands to feel for their weak spots."

At that, Ruby stopped struggling so frantically, and grabbed the elbow that was around her throat. She quickly bent over, and flipped Ozpin on his back. A thudding wheeze told Jaune that Ruby had just knocked the wind out of their old-new?-headmaster.

Ozpin sucks in a new breath, before he jumps up to his feet, and punches Ruby in the face.

Ruby's head snaps back, and Jaune cringes at the sight. Ruby hadn't seen the fist coming-she had not ability to anymore-but he knew that was something any opponent would easily use to their advantage.

"Ouch!" Ruby groaned, pinching her nose, which had started to bleed slightly. "Didn't see that one coming." She joked darkly while she rubbed her fingers together, feeling the sticky blood between her finger pads.

"You need to keep your aura activated," Ozpin scolds. "When you're in a fight, you will never know when a punch or a kick is coming, not until it's too late. Save yourself from damage by keeping your aura up, but don't flare it all at once. You run out at the wrong time, and you're a sitting duck."

"Got it. Learned that lesson."

Ozpin nodded. "Good. Let's do that again!"

Ruby nods, and takes a fighting pose again. Ozpin had showed her a new stance, one that utilized her arms and torso over her legs. Ruby raised her fists, crossing one over her torso, and the other next to her face, protecting her fitals and her head. Her torso hunched over slightly, almost in a runner's starting position, while her knees stayed bent and her toes arched, ready to back up or move forward at any moment.

Ozpin stomps the ground where he stood, letting Ruby know that he was about to engage the fight again.

Quickly, he lunges forward, getting close to Ruby, shoulder raised, ready to land a punch.

Ruby slaps his chest as he gets closer, and grabs his arm before he can pull it away. She pulls it towards her so she can punch him in the stomach, once, twice, three times, before Ozpin grabs her hand to stop her.

undaunted, Ruby grabs his shoulder with her other hand, and yanks Ospin down to knee him in the nose.

Ozpin engages his aura just in time before his nose is broken, and just before Ruby stepped forward and swept his leg out from under him.

Jaune cringed as he watched his old headmaster in a young boy's body fall flat on his back, hearing the wind get knocked out of him again. Ruby kneels down on top of him, feeling for his shoulder, and keeping a fist raised for another offense.

"Right" Ozpin pants. "I think that's enough for today, Ms. Rose."

"So you give up?" Ruby asks, smirking.

"No. I'm tapping out in order to save Oscar's stamina. Let it be known, an enemy will not do the same in a real fight."

Ozpin's eyes flash, and Oscar returns to himself. He collapses on his hands and knees on the ground, panting and gasping for air. "Ugh, why is this so hard?" He groaned.

"Your body isn't used to this level of training yet. Not to mention, building up and learning to activate your own aura takes intese concentration. In time, though, it will become second nature. Then you can work on unlocking your semblance."

"My Semblance?" Oscar said, sounding confused.

"You know!" Nora said excitedly, throwing her arm around Oscar's neck. "It's like you're very own superpower. Ren can mask emotions, lightning makes me super strong, Ruby can move really fast, and Jaune...Jaune-"

"Jaune's like you!" Ruby interrupted. Jaune looked over at Ruby, and saw that she had her hands out, trying to follow thier voices while still trying to "watch" where she went. Jaune walked over to her, and put one of her outstretched hands on his shoulder. "He hasn't unlocked his Semblance yet, but it's only a matter of time before he does."

"How does that work?" Oscar asked.

"Usually if happens during a moment of heightened stress." Ren said. Jaune saw him open one of his eyes, still sitting in his lotus position. "When your tensions reach thier highest peak, your inner power will be revealed."

_Great, _Jaune thought, _he's sounding like a cryptic guru again. _

"How did you guys get yours?" Oscar asked.

Nora smiled, but it was Ruby who spoke first.

"I got chased by an Ursa when I was little." Ruby said. "Started running and before I knew it, I was on the other side of the field, a quarter of a mile away from it."

"I was hiding Nora and myself from the Grimm that devastated our village." Ren said, closin his eye again to resume his meditation.

"Nora?" Oscar asked.

"Eh. Got struck by lightning. Didn't die." Nora smiled, throwing her hands behind her head.

Oscar stared at them all, eyes wide, and lips drawn into a taught line.

_Great, we just scared our newest teammate. _Jaune thought. _Eh, I know he'll get over it. I did. _

* * *

**-Oscar-**

His...no, Ozpin's...no, _their _cane made a whooshing sound through the air with each strike that Oscar brought down.

_Do I even still get to call myself Oscar? _Oscar thought. _Or do I start calling myself Ozpin? _

Unintentionally, he started moving his cane faster through the air, striking the empty air harder and harder with each downward thrust.

_Who...WHAT even am I? _Oscar thought. _What did I just let myself be dragged into? _He grunted, and pulled his can back once again, ready to thrust it downwards. His shoulders and forearms trembled from the effort. How long has he even been doing this? Wasn't the sun high in the sky when he started? Was it sunset already? When-

"Sounds like you're getting better already." A quiet voice said from behind him. It startled Oscar so much that he nearly dropped the cane. He turned around with a start, only to see Ruby standing in the threshold of the door.

"I can practically hear the hard work in your voice." Ruby smiled. Her unbandaged eyes stared ahead at nothing. "At this pace, you'll be combat ready in no time!" A frown crosses Ruby's face at that statement. To Oscar, she almost looked...sad.

"Anyway, let's go." Ruby said, turning around slightly, one of her hands still on the doorframe.

"Ruby, how do you handle all of this?" Oscar said. Sweat was sticking to his head, plastering his hair to his skin.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, confused. Her eyebrows raised slightly.

Oscar clicked a button on the side of the cane, causing it to retract into the handle.

"I'm scared." Oscar admitted. "More than I've ever been in my life. I've always wanted to be more than a farmhand. But _this..._who in thier right minds would ask for _this_?" Oscar asked, motioning around the room with his hands, only to realize Ruby couldn't see him do it.

Ruby's quiet for a while, still standing in the doorframe, lips pursed in thought.

Oscar opens his backpack, and puts the folded cane into the bag.

"We all went to Beacon because we wanted to help people." Ruby said. Oscar looked up from his bag, and saw Ruby standing a few feet away from him, away from the wall that told her where she was, and where she could go.

"But you're right." Ruby said. "None of us asked for this, either. But we have to just press on, and-"

"How can you be so calm about this!?" Oscar snaps. "People have tried to kill you! The world's about to go to war all over again, how are okay with this! Hell, Ruby, you've had your eyes nearly ripped out!"

He sucks in a breath, realizing that he just touched on a topic that had barely begun to heal.

For a while, Ruby just stands there, quiet. Too quiet.

And then she smiles. Actually smiles, but Oscar could see that it was one that was full of sadness and pain.

It was a rueful smile.

"When Beacon fell, I lost two of my friends." Ruby said sadly. "Their names were Penny Polendina, and Pyrrah Nikos. I didn't know them long, but that doesn't change the fact that they were two of the kindest people I've ever met." Ruby tilted her head down, enough so that her bangs overed her dull eyes. "But that didn't save them," shd continued. "Pyrrah thought that even if there was the smallest chance she could help someone, then it was a chance worth taking. And because of that, she died fighting a battle she knew she couldn't win. And Penny...Penny was killed, just to make a statement."

Ruby raises her head again, and turns to the direction where Oscar still stood. He hadn't moved, not an inch. All he could do was stand still and listen to the girl who had seen more in less than one year of combat school than most gradate huntmen have seen. She'd sure as hell seen more than Oscar did.

_She's lost friends, family. Her life has been on the line more than a few times. She's faced battles that she could barely win. Isn't she-_

"I _am_ scared..." Ruby said, almost reading his thoughts, "but not just for me. What happened at Beacon shows that Salem will kill anyone, whether they stand with her or not. But I have to keep fighting, to keep moving forward, because that's what Pyrrah and Penny would do if it were me."

Oscar is stunned.

"I refuse to go down and give up just because things have gotten hard. I refuse to give up even if things seem impossible. Or even if they are. Even if I'm the last hunstman who stands fighting after all of this, then I'm gonna make sure it's the hardest fight that the Grimm and even Salem have ever had." Ruby's fists were clenched in tension. "If we give up, then that means they win, and everyone who's died fighting for the peace of this world, everyone who's ever lost something important to them, that means it was all for nothing. I refuse to do that."

Oscar bowed his head in shame, letting her determined words sink into his mind. "I'm sorry." Oscar said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't upset me." Ruby said, giving him a small smile. "I just like to rant when I'm passionate about something."

"I...I think I get it now." Oscar said. "Sort of."

Ruby laughs, and then turns back around on her heel. She walks towards the entrance of the training room putting out her right hand to feel for the doorframe

"Come on," She calls. "Dinner's ready. Let's go before Nora eats it all. It wouldn't be the first time."

* * *

**-Yang- **

The inside Raven's tent reminded Yang of when she and Ruby would make play forts in the woods when they were kids. On one wall was a map of Anima, with different lines and dots speckled all over it, probably marking where the bandits have been, or something like that. In the middle of the room was a short table. Weiss kneeled down by the table, and Yang stood for a moment before she joined her friend. She looked around the rest of the tent, realizing that there was only one way in or out.

_Not good if we get into a fight, _Yang thought.

There was a small fire burning in a pit on another side of the room, right underneath an open space where the smoke could be let out. Raven put a kettle over the fire, and pulled out a jar of dried leaves. Once the kettle began to whistle, she pulled it off of the fire, and brought it to the table on a tray with other tea cups. Raven kneeled down in front of them.

"How much do you know about your dear Professor Oz?" Raven asked them as she poured tea into thier cups.

"We know enough." Yang snapped. "He's the former headmaster of Beacon Academy, who has ties to the other hunting academies all across Remnant. Beacon is the biggest and the most powerful in terms of associating with the armies. Ozpin died fighting Cinder Fall at the Battle of Beacon."

"He also has followers inside each and every academy in Remnant." Raven said, standing up with her cup of tea. One of her hands was folded behind her back. Raven walked around the small room, towards the map of Anima. "He entrusted his secret to our team, and once I knew, there was no going back." Raven continued, sounding like she was reciting a half-hearted book report.

"So what's the big, scary secret?" Yang snapped.

"The creatures of Grimm have a master named Salem." Raven replied. "She can't be reasoned with, and she can't be stopped." Raven turned to look at Yang and Weiss. "You're fighting in a never ending war against a force who won't stop until all of humanity is destroyed."

Yang felt her mechanical hand clench in frustration. "Why should we believe any of what you say?" She asked her mother.

Raven smirked. Her eyes shone with the barest hint of satisfation. "Very good, Yang." Raven said. "You should question everyhting I tell you, everything anyone ever tells you, because that's what will get you to the truth faster. Otherwise, you'll end up following whatever Oz tells you. Just like your uncle...and your fool of a father."

_That does it!_

Yang stood up, smashing the table with her foot, and breaking raven's china teapot and cups. Her anger boiled underneath her skin, flowing through her every vein and nerve.

"DONT YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY LIKE THAT!" Yang screamed.

"Yang!" Weiss said as she grabbed Yang's wrist in an effort to get her to calm down.

"I know that the Grimm have a leader that can't be stopped." Raven continued. Yang wanted nothing more than to smack that self-satisfactory grin off of her mother's face. "I know people who can come back from the dead, and that magic is real." Raven set her teacup on top of a crate. "Don't believe me?" She asked them, "Then come outside. I have something you both need to see."

Raven strode past them, nearly bumping shoulders with Yang, walking out of the tent.

Yang clenches her teeth, her fists, before she feels a hand rest on her arm. She looked down to see Weiss looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Come on." Weiss tells her. "Maybe if we humor her, she'll let us go."

Yang nodded, and turned around. She tried to release some of the tension in her body as she walked towards the tent opening.

The trees were the only thing that Yang saw when she exited the tent. Weiss walked up next to her, no doubt scanning the treeline for Raven.

And then Yang heard a rustling in the trees.

"What was that?" Weiss asked.

Yang frowned. "I don't-"

And then she saw it. A flash of red and black. Wings and talons, followed by her mother's face.

A bird flew through the trees, and then her mother was hopping from branch to branch, and then there was the bird again.

The bird flew towards them, before it soared up, and then it was Raven summersaulting in the air back towards the ground, landing on her feet.

Yang was in shock, and she had do doubt Weiss was, too. She'd just witnessed her mother transform from a black bird into a person. She saw the reason for her existance fly up into the air as a bird, before tumbling back down on the ground as a human person.

_...the Hell...did she just..._

Raven stood on her feet, and cocked a hip as she rested a hand on her sword hilt. "Ozpin...granted me with the power to turn into a bird when I was at Beacon." She spat. "But you would never know that he had that power, would you?"

Yang just stared at her mother, surprised, but not wanting to let her see that. "Everyone has their reasons for keeping secrets." Yang said.

Raven nodded, her face blank and her eyes lifeless. To Yang, she looked...empty. Broken.

_Just how empty inside do you have to be to reject everyone who loved you? _Yang wondered.

Raven looked away, towards the other tents, nodding, and waving something over to them.

Yang turned around to see two men leading her motorcycle towards them.

_She knew I wasn't going to stay, _Yang thought.

Yang took the bike handles from the bandit men, and swung one leg over the seat of the bike. She reved the engine as Weiss hoped onto the seat behind her. She wrapped her arms around Yang's waist, obviously unused to riding a two-wheeled vehicle.

Raven drew her sword, and slashed it through the air. A rip formed in the air, and a red, swirling cloud opened up in front of Bumblbee. "Leave if you want. You can go back to your uncle and sister, and join in Ozpin's impossible war. Or, you can stay with me, and we can both have a fresh start. I'll answer any question you ask of me."

Though a small part of Yang wanted to take her up on that offer, if only to know the truth, she knew that the answers she'd get would most likely only be half of the whole story.

"All I care about is making sure my sister is safe." Yang replied, as deadpanned and serious as her mother.

"Yang, I may not be so kind the next time we meet." Raven said darkly. There was only a slight warning in her voice, but id Yang didn't know any better, she would have thought Raven wanted her to stay.

Yang revved the engine again, planted her feet in the footholds of the bike. "You weren't kind this time, either." She said, before driving her and Weiss through the portal.

_Please be to Qrow and Ruby. Please be to Qrow and Ruby. _

* * *

**-Ruby- **

The smell of cooking food was enough to make Ruby's somach grumble. From behind her, Ruby could hear the chop-chop-chopping of vegetables on the cuttingboard. She could clearly hear the crunching, signifying that Nora was helping herslef to vegetables as she was cutting them up for the soup.

When she heard that Ren and Nora were going to be making dinner, she'd practicallly begged them to let her help. _I don't have to see to be able to stir a pot! _Ruby had argued.

Currently, Ruby was planted at the stove, stirring mindlessly a pan full of what Ren told her were beef cubes.

Ruby was determined to learn to live without her sight, and felt that conquering a feat like the kitched was a challenge she was feeling up for. True, she couldn't _see_ what she was doing, but Ruby's sense of smell had grown exponentially ever since her attack. Currently, she was holding the pan in her left hand, stirring the chunks of meat with a pair of chopsticks Ren had handed her. Though she was determined to help, Ruby was quickly realizing that there was very little she could actually do.

_Well, if it starts smelling smokey, I'll know it's definitely burned. _Ruby thought. Her eyes felt tired from the night before. Though Ruby could not see anything except darkness, she still had a hard time falling asleep. She could still picture the ground as Tyrian carried her away from her friends, could see his face right before he cut her eyes and rendered her blind. All of those memories of sight, only to wake up unable to see her surroundings. Though she found it easy to rely on other people to guide her, Ruby was too independent to keep doing that forever. So, day by day, she vowed to memorize the layout of the house. She was able to get around on her own the other day, and was determined to keep that up.

"We're back!" Ruby hears her uncle's voice from the living room, followed by the sound of the door slamming shut.

"Coming!" Ruby calls back to him. "Be right there!"

"Ruby," Ren said next to her, calmly, "I think you're going to overcook that."

Ruby felt her face begin to heat up, "Shut up, Ren, I can do it!" She snapped. Her grip on the pan tightened, and she started stirring more furiously at the butchered meat.

"Um, Ruby, " Her uncle called, "I need you to come in here for a second." He sounded...unsure, and it made Ruby think that rounding up the other huntsmen didn't go so well.

"I'm coming!" Ruby replies impatiently, blindly stirring the food in front of her. She wanted to make sure her job was done before she left. However, when a puff of something bitter and charred smelling reached her nose, Ruby sighed, and put down the chopsticks.

"Fine," she said to Ren "you take over."

When Ren's hand wraps over hers as he grabs the handle of the pan, Ruby began moving down the left of hte counter, until she reached the edge of the wall.

"You need a hand?" Nora asked from behind Ruby.

"That's okay." Ruby said, switching to her right hand, "I think I've got the layout now." She then used it to guide her to the opening to the hall. From there, she felt for the right wall of the hallway before she began trailing her fingers on it as she walked. When she came to another break in the wall, she felt to her right for a table, and conluded that she was in the living room.

_Yes!_ She thought to herself. _First time I got to the living room without help! _

"Hey, Uncle Qrow," Ruby called, "we didn't know how many were coming, so we just cooked all of it...Well, Ren and Nora did, mostly, but I helped, too!"

There's silence in the living room. Ruby feels to her right for the couch, making sure she was in the living room, and not talking to the wall again.

_Okay, this is the living room...why isn't he saying anything?_

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asks. "Is something wrong? What happened?"

Ruby senses her uncle's presence (mostly based off of the smell of the alcohol on him), along with two others. One reeked of sweat, smoke, and buckshot on, along with the smell of motor oil and grease. The other smelled both damp and sickly sweet. Like fancy perfume that was thrown into the forest.

"Uncle Qrow, are there other people here?" Ruby asked.

The sound of heavy footsteps on carpet startled Ruby slightly. Instinctively, her hadn gripped the armrest of the couch, while her other reached for Crscent Rose. The smell of buckshot and oil gets stronger. There was something sweeter, too...like lilacs. And something animal-like. A pet, perhaps?

"Ruby?" The figure whispered, and it was a voice Ruby didn't think she'd ever hear again for a long time.

"Yang?" Ruby takes her hand off of the couch, and releases her weapon from the other. Her hand towards the sound of her sister's voice. "

"Yang, is that you?" Ruby asked.

Something cold and smooth grabbed Ruby's hand, and guided it to something soft and warm.

A face.

Ruby brought up her other hand to feel her sister's face, running her fingers over her forehead, her eyes, her nose, and felt her long and tangled hair in her fingers.

"What...?" Yang's voice choked.

"Yang!" Ruby said, her voice sounding timid and flustered. She didn't anticipate her sister would come for her. To be honest, Ruby thought that Yang didn't want to see her, didn't want a reminder of thier team, of what they've lost. Ruby _expecially _didn't want Yang to see her like this. Blind, and helpless, and weak. Just thinking about what pain she must be causing Yang hurt Ruby more than the ache behind her eyes.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby says, fought tears strangling her voice. "I shouldn've stayed longer, I should've said goodbye, but I didn't think you wanted me around, and-"

Two arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders, and the scent of smoke and oil and lilacs filled Ruby's nostrils. One warm and fleshy hand rested atop the back of Ruby's head, while something cold and metallic wrapped itself around Ruby's back and shoulders.

"I love you." Yang choked, her soft voice wispering into Ruby's ear. "I love you." Yang repeated. "I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry I wan't there when you needed me, but I'm here now. I'm here, and I'm sorry I wasn't before."

Ruby's eyes teared up at the sound of her older sister's voice. "It's okay." Ruby choked. "Everything's going to be alright."

"I'm sorry." Yang repeated. "If I wasn't so busy feeling sorry for myself, you wouldn've gotten hurt."

"Yang, this wasn't your fault." Ruby's arms wrapped around her sister's toned torso, squeezing her tight. "There wasn't anything anyone could have done to prevent it. Salem is after me, and Tyrian would have come for me whether you were there or not. But it's going to be okay now. I don't know how, but I'll find a way to work with this. It'll be alright."

"Of course you'd say that." Another familiar, yet choked, voice spoke up. Ruby knew that it was Weiss, she'd know her partner's voice anywhere. She sounded sore and tired, as if its she were struggling to keep her voice controlled.

"Weiss?" Ruby asks, just wanting to be sure.

"Of course, you dunce." Weiss's voice choked again. "It's me. Who else would it be?"

With her arms sill around her sister, Ruby could feel Yang chuckle. "Come on, Weiss." Yang says, letting one arm go of Ruby.

The click clack of heels sounded on the floor, which Ruby identified as Weiss's usual Lady Stilts.

_Yep, that's Weiss alright,_ Ruby thought.

Ruby reaches out her hand towards the sound of the click-clacking, and a soft, cold hand grabbed hers.

_Cold hands, warm heart, _Ruby thought.

Holding her hand, Weiss guided Ruby's hand up to cup her cheek. Ruby ran her hand and fingers' over WEiss face, using her memory to look for identifying markers using her sense of touch. Weiss's cheekbones were sharper than Ruby remembered, but her hair was still long and thick. Ruby reached up to feel for Weiss's usual lopsided ponytail, feeling a smile crease her face when she wrapped her fingers around it.

Ruby struggles to wrap her arm around her friend's shoulders, to pull her in for a hug. Yang lets go of Ruby for a second, so that they could all give each other one big gorup hug.

Ruby could hear silent sobbing, could feel tears on her sister and friend's faces. And though she wanted her own to fall, she also knew that someone needed to be the voice of reason, the source of hope. She could cry in her sleep, when the nightmares returned, but for now, she needed to be the leader her friends and family needed.

"Everything's going to be okay." Ruby said gently, gripping Yang and Weiss in her arms.

"Everything's going to be okay." Ruby repeated.

_Everything's going to be alright, _Ruby thought.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I know, I know. There hasn't been a lot of character development through this story, but I'm hoping to diverge from the cannon storyline after this chapter. Things are going to pick up soon, I promise! Eventually, though, I _will_ bring the story full circle for the volume 4 finale. Team RWBY _will be united_! **

**However, I wanted to say that yes, it's unusual that there hasn't been much on Ruby's obvious trauma from Tyrians attack and losing her sight. However, I think it's safe to say that Ruby's the type of person that puts the needs and wellfare of others WAY ahead of her own needs, even if it's something major that she's trying to deal with. By relearning to fight and how to get around on her own, and encouraging her friends to keep going, Ruby is essentially distracting herself from her trauma. However, that will not work, as you'll soon see in the following chapters. Traumatic experiences can't be ignored, and they never fully leave you. It is up to the individual to work past them on their own, with the help and support of thier friends and families. **

**-thrillerartist **


	7. Chapter 7

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN _RWBY_! **

**Look not with the Eyes**

**by thriller artist**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Nightmares and Coffee**

_When I was a child, my favorite toy was a slinky. I remember I used to stack up books and boxes on top of each other to create a tower. I loved to watch it stretch out, to see the individual springs bend and snap back together, almost in rhythm. I'd spend hours creating obstacle courses for that thing, just so I could find a way to trip up that slinky. I wanted to see how far it could go before it couldn't stretch anymore. I would even play with it as I watch TV on the couch. I'd hold the ends in my hands and make waves with the slinky. I loved that thing, and I took it everywhere with me. _

_One day, while Yang and I were playing outside one day, we decided to test just how far the slinky could stretch. So, I held onto one end of it, and Yang grabbed the other before running to the other end of the yard, almost half a soccer field away. _

_As she ran, that spool of tin stretched and stretched to where it almost became a straight coil. Eventually, my end of the slinky was ripped out of my hands, and dragged itself towards its other half in Yang's hand. As that spring was trumbling through the yard, it got tangled in the grass and weeds, before stopping completely in front of my sister. _

_When Yang gathered it up, she gave me a shocked look, almost afraid. She walked towards me with a look that screamed fear. _

_When Yang held out her hands to me, I saw what she was holding. _

_My precious slinky, my all-time favorite toy, was stretched out and tangled in itself. Some parts snapped back together, but most of it was unwound and bent. _

_I learned that day that there's only so far something can stretch before it breaks. _

_Sometimes, I think of myself as that slinky. I've been stretched, but I've always been ably to snap back into shape. _

_But I think, this time, I've finally been unwound. _

* * *

**-Ruby- **

_She was alone, surrounded by darkness on all sides, the only light emanating was from the full moon. When she looked down, barely see her hands through the dismal light. _

_Suddenly, a hot breath in her left ear whispers, "My, the Rose has thorns!"_

_Ruby turns around with a start, but does no see anyone behind her. She looks side to side, but is unable to see anything at all. She hears rustling, and is immediately thrown from her feet, and onto the floor. SHe cuts her hands on something sharp and __brought, and can smell wood and dirt through her nose. She rolls over, only to see a skinny, pale figure leering over her. Its eyes glowed red with hatred, with a sickly sweet smile, one of madness, plastered across its face. _

_Just like HIS eyes. Just like HIS smile. _

_Something over his sohulder stikes towards her gut, but Ruby grabs it with her hands. The tip of the weapon was long and sharp, while the rest of it emenated a ghostly warmth. And the way it had moved just now, it didn't seem like a weapon. It moved too quickly, too independently from the rest of the figure. Almost like an arm or a leg- _

_And that's when she realized it wasn't a weapon. _

_It was a tail, dripping purple liquid. _

_ "Little Reeeeed..." _

_His voice, taunting her, giving her every reason to be afraid for her life. Ruby backed up with her hands and feet, scooting herself far away. Her arm and leg hurt badly, and something warm was wetting her clothes. She didn't know what was going on, but she did know that she had to get away. _

_"How about we play a little game?" The creature's wicked voice whispers in her ear__. _

_How did it get behind her?!_

_ "I'll give you a chance to run." The creature says, this time from her other side. _

_"And If I catch you...well..." _

_The creature's voice vanishes, before reverberating around her, "You're going to wish I'd killed you."_

_Ruby there was a tightening aroudn her throat. Ruby fought against the grip, and managed to release herself. She started crawling away, getting to her feet and breaking into a sprint. But not matter how hard Ruby pumped her legs, she couldn't seem to go anywhere. She was trapped in the darkness, her only safety the dim light around her. _

_The creature jumpes in front of Ruby, but this time, its features seemed to move and morph, until it wore the face of Ruby's now greatest fear. _

_Tyrian smiled wickidly, and caressed her cheek with the tip of his tail. "You must be so_ proud _of these eyes of yours- _

"AHHHH!" Ruby screamed, bolting upright in her bed. She looked around the room, panting and gasping for a calm breath of air, before realizing-once again-that she couldn't see.

There was the sound of hurried footsteps that got closer and closer, and since Ruby was still half asleep and reeling from her nightmare, she only thought the worst.

In the struggle to get away from the sound of the footsteps, and panicked when she heard the door click open. Backing up on her hands and feet, she ended up getting her legs tangled in the sheets, and when she twisted to get out of the bed, and ended up falling over the side. Not knowing where to break her fall, she cracked her head on something hard, and felt a bump start to form under her hair.

"Ruby!" A voice calls.

Ruby screams again, and tries to get away from the sound. Why was everything so loud? Why was everything smell so bad? Why did her clothes feel so itch and scratchy against her skin?!

"Ruby!" The voice cried again. "Ruby, it's okay. Everythings alright, you're safe!"

A hand toucher her back, and Ruby tensed up from the touch. Her heart beat so fast she could feel it in her ears. Her breath was quick, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe with each one.

The hand sat her up, and wrapped its arms around her body, so her head rested on what she assumed was the struggled, but she was too weak and panicked to fight much, so instead, her body made her freeze up in tension.

"It'll be alright." The voice said. "Breathe, Ruby. Come on, breathe with me."

There was a sound of inhaling, and then an exaggerated exhale. Ruby could feel the chest rise and fall against her cheek. She could hear another heartbeat, one that was much slower and softer than her own. It happened again and again, and it created a sound that soothed Ruby's nerves.

She found herself taking in a deeper breathe each time breathing started. Soon, she was in synch with it, and her chest felt looser, and her heart didn't hurt as much as it did before.

"Feeling any better?" Jaune's voice whispered.

_It was Jaune all along?! _Ruby blushed, stiffening in his arms.

"Y-Yeah," Ruby choked. Her voice felt weak and tired from screaming.

There were other footsteps, multiple sets, bumbling towards her room. People came through the door, and multiple voices started talking, piling on top of each other.

"What happened?"

_Weiss? _

What's going on?!"

_Ren? _

"WHO'S LEGS NEED BREAKING!?"

_Definitely Nora. _

"Rubes, you okay?"

"I...I'm f-fine." Ruby stuttered, worming her way out of Jaune's arms. She strained her ears to hear who the voices belonged to, but they all seemed to jumble together into one.

"I'm fine, guys. Really." Ruby stated. Her head was pounding from where she'd hit the floor, and when she brought a hand up to it, a bolt of pain shot through her head, and her hand came away sticky. Her fingers smelled metallic.

There was a sigh. "Come on, everyone," Qrow said, "it's late, and she doesn't need so many people crowding around her. Jaune, patch Ruby up, and the rest of you get back to bed."

Jaune tapped Ruby's, signaling to her that he was getting up. Ruby got to her knees, and felt around for a piece of furniture. A cold, metal hand grabbed hers, and helped raise her to a standing position.

"I've got her, Jaune." Yang's voice said. "You can go back to sleep. You've done more than enough for tonight."

"Alright." Jaune says gently, almost regretfully. Ruby's heart wrenched as she felt his presence move farther and farther away from her.

_Please, don't leave me alone. _Ruby thought. _Off all the people to see me like this, I don't want Yang to be one of them. She has her own problems, she doesn't need mine, too!_

"It's okay, Rubes." Yang says.

Suddenly, Ruby felt two arms wrap around her shaking body. One was warm and fleshy, the other cold and hard.

_Her new prosthetic. Yang's new weapon. _

"Just breathe." Yang says, sitting Ruby back down on the bed. Or, it felt like the bed. It was soft and warm. Yang keeps her arms around Ruby's shoulders, gentle and warm, even the hard metal of Yang's new prosthetic. Ruby tries to fight the sudden loss of adrenaline, to stand strong, but instead feels herslef melt into her sister. Something soft and wet roll down her cheeks.

_Haven't I cried enough? _Ruby thought.

"You're okay, Ruby." Yang says, gently brushing Ruby's hair. "You're safe. He can't get to you."

Ruby didn't even notice that her breathing was starting to pick up again. _Tail. Eyes. Laughing. Pain- _

"Breathe with me." There was a sound of inhaling. "C'mon, sis, match my breathing." Yang started running circles around Ruby's shoulders, but Ruby could barely register the touch.

"C'mon, Rubes." Yang says again, breaking through Ruby's foggy mind.

Following her sister's plea, Ruby started taking deeper breaths, trying to slow herself down.

"There we go." Yang whispered, talking to Ruby like she was a child, brushing Ruby's hair back behind her ear. She winced involuntarily at the touch.

"Why don't we get you fixed up, alright?" Yang asks. "You cut your head pretty bad when you fell."

Ruby didn't move. Her heart was still thumping in her chest, and her head felt like a fog had rolled over it. She felt exhausted, but she was too jittery to try and sleep.

"Come on," Yang said, nudging Ruby forward, causing her to inch slowly off of the bed.

When Ruby took a step forwards, her knees turned to jelly, and she would probably have fallen again if her sister hadn't cought her.

"I've gotcha." Yang said soothingly. "I've gotcha, Rubes."

Yang held Ruby in her arms, one wrapped around her shoulder, and the other grapping he bicep gently. Ruby unsteadily took step after step, turning right and then walking straight.

_Where are we going? The kitchen? _Ruby thought. _Or to the living room?_

"Here we go." Yang says gently, "We're in the kitchen, Ruby. You cut your head, and I need to dress it. I'm gonna set you down on a chair, alright."

Ruby didn't have the energy to do anything but nod.

She held out her hands, keeping them around the front of her, as Yang pushed her towards a something smooth and wooden. Ruby feels for the seat before hesitantly sitting down on it.

There was the sound of items being moved around, and then something clinking. Like the sound of ice in a glass. Then Ruby heard something being set down in front of her. A cliking noise. Things being set down on the table.

Then a hand grabbed Ruby's, and she tensed up before shoving it away.

_Don't touch me!_ Ruby thought. _I won't let him touch me! _

"Ruby, it's me, it's Yang." Her sister said, and Ruby felt her hand be picked up and placed on warm flesh. Ruby ran her fingers over a smooth cheek, a mouth, then a button nose and two eyes, letting her hand tangle in thick, long hair. A cold hand came up and held her own.

It was Yang.

_How could I not remember my own sister was right in front of me! _Ruby yells internally, trying to force her tears to stop from falling. Her hand stayed wrapped in Yang's hair as she cried, and Yang's warm hand

"It's alright." Yang whispered. "I understand. It's okay, Rubes."

Ruby didn't do anything except keep a grip on Yang's metal hand. It was part of her sister, and she needed concrete reassurance of who she was with and where she was.

"I'm gonna have to wrap your head, alright?" Yang said, gently pulling her hand away from Ruby's. She let her hand fall back onto the table, feeling tired and drained. As Yang cleaned and dressed the cut on her head.

"Want to talk about it?" Yang asked Ruby as she wrapped gauze around her head.

Ruby doesn't say anything in response, just shakes her head from side-to-side.

"Okay." Yang sighed, taping the gauze. "I understand, Rubes, not wanting to talk about the nightmares." Yang's hand gently rested on Ruby's shoulder. "Just know that I'm here for you," Yang said calmly, "and if you ever want to talk about anything, I'll listen. We all will."

Though her mouth felt too dry to speak, Ruby still wanted to show some gratitude towards her sister. She swallowed hard, and said. "Thanks, Yang."

A soft pair of lips kissed Ruby's forehead, and Yang wrapped her in another hug.

"I love you." Yang said. "Always remember that."

Ruby nodded against her sister. "Love you, too, Sis."

* * *

**-Yang- **

The sun was the first to wake Yang up that morning. For once, it wasn't the nightmares. If took her a few moments to remember where she was. It felt cooler here than in Patch, but hte sun was still as bright as ever.

But it was still a shock to Yang to wake up in an unfamiliar room.

_That's right. _Yang remembered, laying back agains the headboard, _I'm in Mistral. _Then she turned on her side, and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand.

**7:34 am.**

_Welp, _Yang thought, _there's no way I can go back to sleep now. _

Back at Beacon, Yang was the heaviest sleeper of all the members of her team. But once she was awake, it was next to impossible for her to fall back asleep.

Throwing off the covers, Yang got out of bed and moved towards the pile where she'd thrown her clothes the night before. However, she was surprised to see them cleaned and folded on the dresser.

_Huh. _Yang thought, shrugging her shoulders before dressing. _Ren probably did laundry last night. _

Once dressed, Yang made her way to the back of the house, and onto the porch. She wanted fresh air to help start the day.

She wasn't expecting to see her little sister sprawled out on the ground, facing the sun.

"Hey, Sis." Yang said, sitting down beside Ruby, criscrossing her legs.

"What are you doing up?" Ruby asked, not moving to sit up. Her eyes were closed, and Yang was happy to see that the fear and tesnsion from the night before didn't show a sign on Ruby's face.

"Can't fall back asleep." Yang said, leanding back on her hands.

"Same here." Ruby sighed as she sat up. The bandage from last night was still wrapped around Ruby's head. Yang was relieved to see that no blood had seeped through the dressing.

For a while, they sat together, basking in the morning sun, and enjoying the fresh air.

A few moments later, Weiss came out with a tray of coffee cups, handing one to Yang before kneeling down beside Ruby.

"No thanks, Weiss." Ruby said.

"Don't worry, I put horrendous amounts of cream and sugar in it, just for you." Weiss said. Yang didn't miss the smile curling the corners of Weiss's lips.

_She sure missed us. _Yang thought, smiling softly to herself.

"Nice Weiss strikes again!" Ruby chirps, her chidlishness showing again. Yang couldn't remember seeing Ruby smile like that since Beacon, back when they were all just naive huntresses in training. Back when they thought they were unstoppable.

_Or, at least, back when we thought we were. _Yang lamented, looking down at her new arm, the one that was now holding a mug of hot coffee. She couldn't feel it, though. she'd never be able to feel anything out of that hand ever again.

"I will not hesitate to pour this on you, you know." Weiss snapped at Ruby, jokingly. Ruby's smile dropped, before resuming again sheepishly. Weiss set the tray down on the ground, and placed Ruby's mug into her hands.

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby said, before taking a sip of her coffee.

"I always said I'd be the best partner ever, didn't I?" Weiss said, before taking up her own mug of straight black coffee.

_Glad at least Weiss is a reliable teammate. _Yang said.

And she had to admit that it was nice, sitting together as a team again. Well, almost a team. They were short one particular person that Yang wasn't sure she ever wanted to see again. And Ruby just _had _to go and open up that can of worms.

"I wish Blake were here, too." Ruby says sadly, lowering her cup to her lap. Yang couldn't stop the feeling of anger from welling in her stomach.

"Well, she's not, is she." Yang grumbles. "It's okay, though. We'll be just fine without her."

"Don't you want her here?" Ruby argues. "She's a part of our team. She's our friend-"

"Yeah, and she had her chance, but she ran." Yang interrupted. "She abandoned her team instead of sticking by us when we were at our worst." Yang's fingers curled into a fist, while her ceramic cup creaked under the strain of her mechanical ones. Yang took a deep breath, letting it out harshly. "If Blake wants to run, that's just fine with me. She can stay gone, for all I care."

"Woah, calm down, Yang." Weiss says gently, trying to be the mediator.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Yang snaps. Her flesh hand started shaking. "She left us! We were a team, we should have stuck together! Look what's happened to us, Weiss! None fo this would've happened if-"

"Shut. _Up._ Yang." Ruby snarls.

Yang had never heard her little sister sound so spiteful.

"Yeah, we should have stayed together." Ruby snapped. "We realize that now, but what could we have done at the time? You were maimed, Weiss was whisked back home by her father, and Blake's worst nightmare came true. I ran away from home to get to Haven..." Ruby's fingers trailed her still-fresh scars. "Are you going to blame that on Blake, too?"

Ruby set her mug down on the ground, and leans back on her hands.

"What's done is done." Ruby said, resigned. "None of it can be changed. The best thing we can do is to learn to go on the best we can."

Yang stared at her sister. She's never before seen Ruby so sullen. "Ruby-"

"I'm going to go train." Ruby gets up, setting her coffee down. It tips over and spills hot liquid on her cloak, but Ruby didn't notice. She couldn't _see _it happen.

Yang starts to stand, her protective side telling her to stay with Ruby. She starts to say, "I'll come with you-"

"I think I want to trian alone." Ruby spits, turning her back, and walking towards the house.

Yang sits back down, stunned from hearing the ice in her sister's voice. "Yeah. Okay."

Yang heard Ruby counting her steps as she went.

* * *

**-Weiss- **

Weiss watched calmly as Yang hurled her cup of coffee across the lawn, watching it smach against the ground, spilling hot liguid all over the place.

"Well, that was a waste of good coffee." Weiss mumbles, sipping from her own cup before setting it down.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ice Queen," Yang snapped in frustration, "do you want me to apologize to it?"

Weiss started, "Yang, calm down-"

"Don't tell me to calm down, Weiss!" Yang growls. "You have no idea what I'm feeling. She left us! My best friend, my partner, the person I was supposed to rely on the most, abandoned me and our team! All my life, I was alone! My own mother left me, and so did Ruby's. Dad was too busy with school, and Qrow was rarely around long enough to raise us. I was left alone to pick up the pieces of my family. I had to be there for my family, but that left no one there for me."

Yang looked down at her mechanical hand and forearm. "You had everyting you could ever have wanted, Weiss." Yang murmered. "You have a huge family, a huge house, and a batillion of servants waiting on you hand and foot."

_You're right about those things, _Weiss thought, _I did have everything I could ever want. But the things I most needed, I couldn't have. _

Calmly, almost detached, Weiss set down her mug of coffee, and folded her hands together on her lap.

_Now's a good a time as any to tell her what my life was _really _like in Atlas. _

weiss took a deep breath, calming her nerves. A bundle of anxiety settled in her stomach, similar to what she'd felt before her recitals and performances growing up.

"When I was ten," Weiss said, "my dad told my mother that he only married her for her family name. It actually happened on my birthday. He missed my party, and she got mad. They fought, and he finally spilled his little secret."

Weiss took another breath, and looked to the horizon, trying not to detach herself from hte situation. "I think she already knew." Weiss confessed. "Deep down, I thnk I did, too. But hearing it from his own lips finally sent her over the edge. They started having separate dinners, separate balconies at my recitals. A glass of wine every night turned into a bottle of wine every other hour."

Weiss finally worked up her nerve to look at Yang, who stared at her with apologetic eyes.

"You're right," Weiss told her, "I don't know lonelieness like you do. I...have my own version of it."

Yang breathes deeply, running her hands through her hair. "I'm sorry, Weiss." Yang said. "I shouldn't have assumed."

"You're not the first to do so." Weiss says. "I...know we're not as close. But being a part of these team was like being a part of a real family. I'm closer to you and Ruby and Blake than even my own father and brother."

"Blake could have stayed." Yang grumbles. "No one blamed her for what happened at Beacon. If she stuck around long enough to talk to us, she would have known that."

"When someone lives with fear long enough, it has a funny way of controlling them." Weiss said, resting her hand on Yang's shoulder. "The _one thing_ Blake was the most afraid of actually happened. The universe proved her right, bringing her nightmare to the people she cared about. She probably thought that the only way to protect us was to run away and take all the danger with her."

"The danger came for us without her!" Yang whispers, staring down at her mechanical arm. "We needed her. We could have gotten through it together. We were supposed to be a team, we were supposed to stick together when things got tough."

Weiss kept her hand on Yang's shoulder, squeezing it lightly before taking it away. "I know it's not easy," Weiss said, "and I miss her, too. I know we're not that close, but I hope you understand that I'm here for you if you need me. And when she's ready to come back, we'll be there for Blake, too. All of us."

Weiss watched Yang nod her head slowly, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

_Well, she's gotten better at controlling her stress._ Weiss thought. _We've all changed in such a short while. In more ways than just physical ones. _

Almost as if she were reading Weiss's mind, Yang asked, "Weiss, what am I gonna do about Ruby?"

The look in Yang's eyes were too sad, too pathetic, to come from the blonde brute.

Yang took a shuttering breath, and put her face in her hands. "It's hard enough dealing with my own problems." Yang whimpered. "I _never_ wanted Ruby to go through this, too. How can she ever forgive me? I was suppsed to protect her, and I failed."

"You didn't fail her, Yang." Weiss says, inching closer to her side. "You can't protect someone if you're not able to do so." Weiss says gently. " you were hurt, recovering, dealing with your new condition. Ruby is capable of making her own choices, and you and I both know there's nothing anyone can do to stop her once she's made up her mind. You can't blame yourself for what happened to Ruby. The only one to blame is the person that did this to her, and I know for a fact that we will make him pay."

Yang nods, wiping her eyes.

"I think all you can do right now," Weiss says, "is let her know that she's not alone in this."

* * *

**-Qrow- **

He was finishing talking to Boy Oz on the couch when he hears a clattering noise from the training room. The sound of metal on wood floors was enough to let Qrow know that someone was dropping their weapon more than they should.

He walks down the hall, and down the stairs to the little training room in the house. The Kiddo is standing there, drenched in sweat and looking exhausted as she kneels down to pick up Crescent Rose from the floor. Then she stands back up again, and resumes her fighitng stance before beginning a form that he'd taught her when she was first learning to fight.

It hurt to see his protege like this. The kid who never let anything stand in her way, who fought tooth and nail to prove herself, was reduced to the beginner form she'd learned when she was no more than ten.

But still, a part of him had to admore her determination. Even though she's lost her sight, there was still solidity to her form, her muscle memory taking over her being as she sliced and stabbed through the air.

For a while he stands in the doorway, leaning against the post, watching his niece learn to fight again.

But then Qrow sees Ruby's hand slip, causing her to drop her scythe again. When she grunts in frustration, Qrow can't help but see a little bit of himself in her at that moment. Ruby kneels down again, searching for her weapon with her hands, before finding it again. She slowly stands, leaning one her sniper-scythe, gasping and panting, stuggling to regain her breath. A chill runs down Qrow's back when she looks directly at him with her blank, scarred eyes.

"I know you're there, Uncle Qrow." Ruby says, panting, staring in his direction, but not seeing him. "I can smell the cheap aftershave and liquor from here."

Qrow snorts, walking forward towards her. "You've turned into quite the bloodhound, Kiddo."

Ruby scoffs at his cheap humor, and grips her scythe again. "Yes," Ruby snaps, "it's incredible isn't it! I toatlly would have blinded myself sooner if I knew I'd get superhuman senses!"

Qrow can't help but flinch at her angry tone. "Rough night?" He asks her, already knowing what the answer was. He'd checked up on Ruby every hour after her nightmare, to make sure she wasn't living through another memory.

"Gee, Uncle Qrow, whatever gave you that idea?" Ruby snaps.

"Look, Kid-

"I don't want to hear it, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby yells. "Just leave me alone!"

Qrow sighs again. "Alright. If that's what you want. Just be sure to stop soon. You look like you're about to fall over."

"I can't stop." Ruby grunts, pickup up her scythe again. "I have to get stronger. I have to be ready."

"Ready for what?" Qrow asks, even though he knew the answer.

"Ready for an attack!" Ruby snaps at him, something she's never, ever done. "He's still out there." Ruby rambled. "_Salem's_ still out there, the Grimm are out there! I have to be ready! I need to be stronger, I have to be better!"

"Ruby-"

"I HAVE TO READY!" Ruby cries, her voice hitching. "I-I-I...How can I..." Her scythe drops from her hands, and she finally collapses. She would've landed on the ground wrong if Qrow hadn't caught her.

Her face buried into his chest, and her grip on him was as tight as a constrictor's.

"It's okay, Kiddo." Qrow said, holding her gently as she cried. "I've gotcha...I've gotcha."

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	8. Chapter 8

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN **_**RWBY**_**!**

**Look not with the Eyes**

**by thrillerartist**

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**So...yeah. I know it's been a loooonnnnggg time since I've posted on this story. Honestly, I haven't been feeling like myself for a while. The COVID-19 thing has got my mind all out of whack, and I'm just starting to feel like writing again. Now that I've gotten the story up and going again, I think I'll be able to post more regularly. **

**Hope everyone's staying safe and healthy during the quarantine. **

**-thrillerartist**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Betrayal**

_It's funny how elusive sleep can be, especially if you need it. Lately, my dreams have either been restless, or downright terrifying. Replaying that one night in my mind, over and over some nights, while others will just be an overwhelming feeling of impending doom. _

_Sometimes, I feel like I'll never be completely safe. _

_Sometimes, I believe that I'll never be like I used to be. _

_But then again, isn't that true for all of us?_

_We live in a time where our feeling of safety is something that could vanish in hte blink of an eye. Beacon was proof of that._

_Every day, we are farther and farther from the people we once were. We either edge closer to the people we want to be, or the monsters we fear becoming. _

_I can feel it, too. A voice telling me to give up, to walk away. Would anyone really blame me if I did? _

_I would._

_Over and over, playing on repeat in my mind every time I lay down to sleep. Hope, Despair, Bravery, Fear. Hope, Despair, Bravery, Fear. It's almost enough to drive me crazy. _

_There's a part of me that wants to stop, to go home to my home on Patch and forget my problems. Let the world sort itself out. _

_But I have to keep going. For all those I've lost, and for those who've lost parts of themselves because of Salem and her forces. My family, my team, my friends..._

_I knew since I was a child that I wanted to be a hero like the ones in the storybooks. But life isn't like_

_those books. Life is darker, harsher, but also too beautiful and wonderful to ever be described in words. _

_If I walk away, then it would all have been for nothing._

_It would have all been lost for nothing._

_I won't let that happen. _

* * *

**-Qrow-**

"Things aren't looking too good, Oz." Qrow said after gulping down a mouthful of coffee. his tongue burned, but he still turned to his colleague-a fourteen year old boy, who was possessed by Qrow's age-old teacher and friend.

"Ever the optimist, aren't you, my friend?" Oscar/Oz said. Qrow was still trying not to be bothered by the fact that the same man who taught him at Beacon, was the teenager sitting beside him. But whenever Oscar opened his mouth, it was Oz's words and speech that he used. That, for now, made things less confusing for Qrow.

_At least he still talks like a wise old fart, _Qrow thought. _If he started talking like Ruby, I'd lose my __mind with confustion. _

_Speaking of Ruby…_

Qrow's heart dropped. Ever since the forest, he couldn't look at her the same. Gone were the days of the hyper girl who was obsessed with weapons and heroic tales. Now there was only a broken promise.

He still couldn't get over the little conversation he'd had with Yang the night she and Weiss joined them in Mistral.

The look of disappointment in her eyes was enough to make his broken heart shatter further.

"_Qrow...what happened?" Yang's lilac eyes shone with hurt and sadness at seeing her younger sister._

_Ruby had just gotten into bed that night, and Yang had cornered Qrow in the den while he was helping __himself to the liquor cabinet. _

"_I trusted you." Yang stated, arms crossed. "You promised nothing would happen to Ruby, you told __me yourself that you'd keep her safe. So why...Why did this happen to her?" _

_All Qrow could do was stare at her with sadness. All he could say was "I wasn't fast enough." _

_Yang had punched a hold in the wall beside her with her new metallic arm-compliments of General __James Ironwood. Qrow was glad that his face wasn't there, and he just sat still on the couch. _

"_I should've been here." Yang muttered. _

"_It's going to be okay, Yang-" _

"_DON'T!" Yang reared on him, eyes red with rage. "Don't just say that everything will be okay! You __don't get to say that to me! Especially not to her!" Yang's left hand started trembling, and she __grabbed it with her prosthetic one. _

"_I have to say that, Yang." Qrow said calmly, "Because the situation we're in right now, we have to __stay focused on the task at hand. As harsh as that sounds, it's the truth." _

"_So you're just going to ignore it, then?" Yang said, incredulously. "Pretend it never happened?" _

"_No," Qrow growled, "you don't get to put words in my mouth. I know what's happened was my fault. __I know that I made you a promise, and I couldn't hold up my end. I know. You don't have to remind __me. But one thing I can tell __you for sure is that Ruby is too stubborn and too strong to let this stop __her. I can't undo what happened, but I can at least be there and tell her that 'it will be okay'. __Because __even if it's not true, even if the world goes to shit, she __needs to have little hope that she can get __through this." _

_Qrow took a deep breath, and took another sip of his drink. Setting the empty glass down on the __coffee table, he stood up to face his niece. Was she always the same height as him? Seemed like __yesterday she and Ruby were running __around their yard, on Patch. Laughing. Playing. Being kids. _

_What happened? _

_Where had he been? _

_Qrow rubbed his temple. "I don't blame you for being angry, Firecracker," he sighed. "I wish you'd be __more angry with me, actually. Seems all I'm good for is breaking promises, and causing harm to __everyone I get close to." _

"_I just…" Yang took a deep breath to calm herself. Her eyes reverted back to their natural lilac color._

"_I just didn't want this-" she gestured to her new arm- "to happen to her, too." _

"_I didn't either." Qrow said. "The last thing I ever wanted was for Ruby to get hurt. But Tyrian got the __drop on us, I got distracted, and he got to Ruby as a result. By the time we got her back, Tyrian'd __already…" __Qrow took a huge _

_gulp from his flask, which might as well have been glued to his hand by __that point. _

"_I don't like it, Firecracker," Qrow said to Yang, "but this is where we are. The best thing we can do is __try to continue on from here-" _

"Um, excuse me?" Ruby's voice said, interrupting Qrow's thoughts. He looked over his shoulder to see Ruby walk carefully into the room, her fingers trailing beside her, letting go of the wall that had become her guide.

"Ah, Ms. Rose." Oz said lightly. "Join us. We were just about to gather everyone to plan our next steps."

"Uh, great." Ruby said, not making a movement to sit down. Qrow guessed that she either couldn't tell where the chairs were (since she was still learning to navigate on her own) or that she just didn't feel like sitting. His gut told him

that it was probably the latter, which only caused him to become uneasy.

Not to mention, he still couldn't get used to the scars on his niece's face.

_Your fault, _the voices in his head screamed. _You broke your promise, and she's blind and traumatized __because of you." _

"What's on your mind, Kiddo?" Qrow asked his niece, looking into her damaged eyes, even though she couldn't look back.

"Well..." Ruby started, sounding uneasy, "we've been talking about the Maidens. Summer, Spring, Winter...So, what about the Fall Maiden?" Ruby asked.

"You mean Cinder." Oz said, his mug of coffee resting between Oscar's hands.

"Do you think she has the Relic from Beacon?" Ruby asked, finally getting to her main question. "Do you think Salem has it now?"

Qrow expected something out of Oz, but it wasn't a smile at the girl.

"Very astute, Ms. Rose." Oz said, green eyes glimmering in pride. "No," Oz finally confirmed. "I made the reslic at Beacon a bit more challenging to find than the

ones at the other schools. Rest assured, it's out of their reach. For now. We must keep our priority on the Relic at Haven.

Ruby sighed in relief. "That's good to hear, at least." She said, gripping her left arm with her right hand, a nervous habit she'd recently picked up. Qrow knew that there was something else on the girl's mind, though, since she didn't

take her leave from them. Ruby's face scrunched up with anxiety, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Oz asked, seeming to pick up the hint.

Ruby took a breath, before finally saying what she wanted. "Well...I, uh, have one more question-"

"No, my cane is not a relic." Oz said with a smile. Though Qrow didn't think that was Ruby's question, he admired the fact that his old teacher remembered how obsessed Ruby was with weapons.

And Qrow was right.

"That's...um..." Ruby stammered, "that's not what I was going to ask you."

Qrow's heart drops. Usually his gut instinct was correct, but there were times that he hated being right.

Ruby gripped her arm tighter. "It's just that...you said you were able to do magic, right?" She asked.

_Oh, no. _Qrow thought, wanting already to reach for his flask. He looked at Oz, waiting for what his answer would be.

"Yes, Ms. Rose." Oz said, his face straight and serious. "I was born in an era when mankind possessed the ability to perform magical acts. Why such interest?"

"Do you think...I mean," Ruby's hands fell to her sides, " you were able to make Qrow turn into a bird, so, I thought that maybe..." She gestured to her scarred face.

Qrow watched as Oz looked at Ruby with sorrow, before he took a deep breath, and sighs loudly. "I'm terribly sorry, Ms. Rose." Oz said. "You have no idea how much this pains me to say it, but I cannot heal your sight."

"Why not?" Ruby asked, sounding like a typical frustrated teen.

"Having the power to give another the ability to transmute into another living creature is far different than having the power to heal. When I was truly alive, the gods did not give the powers of man the ability to completely heal mortal

wounds, or to return life to the dearly departed. It was to remind us to place value in our lives as mortals, and to not mess with the laws of nature. A lesson that I have learned over and over as my extended life goes on."

"But...you're immortal." Ruby argued weakly. "You can't die!"

"Though my life may not be able to end the way yours can," Oz continued, "it does not mean I am invulnerable to mortal injuries. If my host dies, I am incapable of saving them. If my host sustains a near-fatal injury, I cannot heal

completely. Nor can I heal others beyond the current means. "

Ruby drops her head. "I understand," She says.

"I am truly sorry Ms. Rose," Oz says sadly. "But I cannot undo what Tyrian Callows has done to you."

Before he can get a word in, Qrow's scroll starts buzzing. He fishes it out of his pocket, but the name on the screen was one that surprised him.

_Leo._

Qrow hit the call button, and held the scroll to his ear.

"Yeah?"

_"I've thought about what you've said." _Leo's naturally nervous voice said on the other line. _"I'll be __willing to help you gather up more huntsmen. You're right. I can't stand by while Salem runs rampant. __I want you to come to the _

_academy tonight. Bring those kids, too. It's high time we put a proper plan __together."_

Puzzled, Qrow said, "We'll be there." And hung up his scroll. He looked up towards the two expectant faces staring back at him.

"That was Leo." Qrow said, dully. He turned to Oz. "He wants us to come to the academy. Says he's changed his mind, and wants to help us."

Oz hummed in descent. "Minds don't change that quickly without major motivation. Good or bad. I fear..."

Qrow nodded, and turned back towards his niece. "Ruby," he says, "go get the others. We need to discuss our plan."

"Got it." Ruby said in reply, her voice still sounding defeated.

There were a few moments of silence, before Qrow worked up the courage to address the Goliath in

the room.

"I'm worried about her." Qrow says. "I just...What happened to her. I can't get it out of my head. I should have been faster. I should have seen it coming. I should have-"

"Take it from a man who has lived as long as I have," Oz says sagely, "focusing on the 'should-haves' is the shortest road to insanity. Focusing on the possibilities you only see in hindsight will do nothing to change our present situation, no matter how much you may want to."

Oz got a far-away look in his eyes when he said that. "I get that you blame yourself. I would, too, if I were in your position. But the best thing you can do for her now, is be there for her in every way you can. Even if she doesn't want you to." Oz took a deep sip of his coffee before continuing, "I am concerned for her as well. Ms. Rose has been through a great deal in the past few months. All of my students have. But I know that humans are a resilient force-young ones especially. I have no doubt that she and the rest will endure the best they can."

"It's how she'll endure it that I'm afraid of." Qrow said, before getting up for the kitchen to pour himself more coffee. Looking down at the dark liquid, in his mug, he couldn't help but feel a crushing guilt. Was this what Ruby saw every morning when she woke up? Darkness? Or was it just a blank sheet of gray light that kept her from distinguishing the shapes and colors of objects. That kept her from seeing the things she loved, the people she cared about.

_It's your fault, _the voice in his head whispered. _You're a bad luck charm, and if you stay here, you're going to get everyone killed. Look what you did to your niece! _

Though Qrow knew better than to listen to the instinct to flee, he couldn't deny himself the itch for alcohol. So, fishing his flask out of his other pocket, he upended the contents of it into his mug.

And for another moment, Qrow felt his head clear as the liquor numbed his worries.

* * *

**-Jaune-**

Jaune was on his way back from the training room when he spotted Ruby's bedroom door ajar. Peering inside as subtly as he could, he saw his friend sitting on her bed, one hand tracing her new scars. She was facing the doorway, and Jaune was sure that if she still had the ability, Ruby would be staring off into space.

Gently, Jaune knocks on her door frame three times, to let her know he's there.

"You okay, Crater-Face?" He asks her, leaning against the doorway.

Ruby shakes her head, and mumbles , "M'Fine, Jaune"

Jaune audibly sighs, letting Ruby know he doesn't believe her, and sits down beside her on the bed. "What's wrong?" Jaune asks.

"Nothing, Jaune." Ruby says again.

"We've been traveling as a team for months, Ruby, I know when you're upset."

Ruby turns her head away from his voice, facing the wall. It's then that Jaune notices Ruby hasn't gotten anything ready for the trip to Haven Academy.

"Aren't you going to get geared up?" Jaune asks. "We're going to Haven soon."

Ruby sighs, and holds her head in her hands. Jaune notices that she has accumulated a few dark circles under her eyes, a testament to how little she'd been sleeping.

"Maybe...maybe I shouldn't go with you guys." Ruby finally says.

Jaune could barely believe what he was hearing! "What?" Jaune asked. "Why not?!"

"Jaune…" Ruby stands, hands balling into fists, " do you really think I can fight like I am now?"

"What?! Ruby, you've been training harder than the rest of us for weeks! You have the best instincts out of all of us."

"I'M NO GOOD IN A FIGHT ANYMORE, JAUNE!" Ruby finally admits. "Yeah, I'm better at hand to hand combat, but that's only because Professor Ozpin was holding back so that I'd learn. Oscar is as green as I am when it comes to that stuff, so of course I'd beat him occasionally! But in a REAL fight?! Against Cinder? Salem? I'm...I'll be totally useless! Vulnerable! I can't even shoot my rifle anymore!"

Jaune was at a loss for words. This was Ruby? The fearless leader of Team RWBY? The girl who always had a plan, no matter how ridiculous it was?

It was hard to see his friend like this. It was hard to hear these words come from her.

"Ruby…" Jaune says, "I…"

"I'd be better off just staying out of the way for now, I think." Ruby concludes. "It's the best strategy I can think of, really. I'd just hold everyone back if a fight breaks out."

"You've never held anyone back, Ruby." Jaune says, trying to change her mind. "We need every fighter we have now. We need you."

"Jaune…" Ruby rubbed her temples, "Jaune, I just don't know anymore."

Jaune took a deep breath, in and out, using his strategic mind to try and find a way to change her mind.

Suddenly, an idea came to him.

_If this doesn't work, Yang's going to kill me._ Jaune thought. _But if this works, it just might be the thing that stops her from making a choice she regrets. _

Jaune took a step back, squared his shoulders, and then threw a punch towards Ruby's face,

Immediately, Ruby twists out of the way, and grabs Jaune's arm, twisting it in a way that forced him to fall onto the bed,

Jaune grunts, as he falls, and then taps Ruby's arm to let her know he surrenders.

Ruby scoffed, and let him go. "That was a dirty trick, Jaune"

Jaune shrugs, then remembers she couldn't see him. "I'm shrugging my shoulders." Jaune says, smiling when he sees Ruby crack a small grin. "And aas there a better way to prove my point to you?" Jaune grunts. "You may have lost your sight, but your reflexes are stronger than ever. You're way better at self-defense and hand-to-hand combat than you were a few months ago. You're as strong as ever with your scythe. Yeah, you can't shoot it anymore, but you're strong, Ruby. You _can _do this, so I don't want you to start believing for a second that you can't."

Ruby smiles softly. "Thanks, Vomit-Boy."

* * *

**-Weiss- **

Walking through the grounds of Haven Academy was like walking back in time. The layout and design reminded her much of the campus at Beacon Academy. Nostalgia flooded Weiss's system as she remembered the only place she'd ever truly felt at home. And it was gone...

Weiss walked beside Ren and Nora, while Ruby walked beside Yang. Ruby was keeping a hand on her sister's shoulder, while Yang steered her forwards. Oscar walked behind Yang and Ruby, while Qrow led their little pack. Jaune walked besides Ruby and Yang.

_He's certainly come a long way in a few months. _Weiss thought. _I can't really call him the bumbling idiot anymore, can I? _

The lights were on inside.

_Someone's home, at least. _Weiss thought. _Now it just depends on what type of 'new from the Council' Lionheart has for us. If he even has any to begin with. _

The atrium of Haven reminded Weiss of the grand stages she'd often performed on during her recitals. A stairway that led up to another platform, carpeted by red, velvety fabric. Gold lined the ivory banisters. Lionheart was standing on the landing, looking out over them.

"Thank you for coming," Lionheart says, sounding nervous even to Weiss. "There...seems to be more of you than the last time we met..."

Qrow shrugs, standing up straight and crossing his arms. "Eh, you know what they say, 'The more the merrier'." Qrow grins at his friend, and asks "So what's going on in the Council?"

Instead of answering, Lionheart gulps nervously. "Why...Why did you bring your weapons?" He asks them.

_Ironic question, considering he's wearing his weapon, himself. _Weiss thought. Lionheart was wearing a sheathed blade on his left forearm, shaped like a gilded cross.

"What?" Qrow asks in confusion. "Leo, we're huntsmen, we always have our weapons with us. You okay?"

Weiss immediately knows that something is wrong. It was a feeling she'd always get when her silver-tongued father went back on his word. Make a deal with him? You'd better make sure he held up his end of it before you held up yours.

"Of course," Lionheart says numbly, "Sorry. I haven't had my evening coffee yet."

"Uh-huh." Qrow grumbles. "Leo, we're a bit busy, so is the Council gonna help us or not?"

It was the same thing she was feeling now. A fluttering in the pit of Weiss's stomach, a tingle running down her spine.

Weiss looked over the group, seeing that Yang looked distracted. There was a black bird in the corner, with beady red eyes. Weiss hears Yang mumble, "Mom?"

_Oh, no. _Weiss thought, remembering where she'd seen a similar bird before. _Please don't be- _

The bird, as if it heard Yang, flew behind Lionheart, and beside him appeared a woman with striking black hair.

It was the same woman from the bandit camp. Yang's biological mother, Raven.

Qrow draws his sword, and Lionheard stares fearfully at Raven, who takes off her Grimm mask. The anger in Qrow's eyes rivaled that of Weiss's father. Only this time, the anger was directed at someone who was more deserving of it.

"If you're going to shoot me, shoot me, Qrow." Raven says with a smirk.

"Leo", Qrow says, gripping his sword, "What did you do?"

Weiss's heart began to pound. She'd always heard the stories about Qrow from Ruby and Yang, but she had never before seen Qrow's full power. Even that brawl he had on the Beacon Lawn against Winter was just a fraction of Qrow's full skill.

And Weiss had a feeling she was about to witness it all tonight.

"Leo did what any sane person did." Raven calls in her cynical voice. "He looked at all the information in front of him," Raven walked down the stairs, and paced the carpet in front of them. "He assessed the situation, and made a choice." Raven stops in front of Yang, a few feet out of arm's reach. "And it seems so have the rest of you."

If Weiss didn't know any better, she'd say Raven looked disappointed in Yang. It was a look Weiss saw too many times on her own father's face.

"You have the Spring Maiden, don't you?" Qrow says to his twin.

"Yes." Raven said coldly. "I do."

"Then hand her over so we can work together!" Qrow yells, veins in his neck distending from the effort. From the anger. "We can beat Salem-"

"All those jobs you went spying for Ozpin," Raven said in disgust, shaking her head, "and you still don't know what you're dealing with. There _is _no beating Salem!"

"You're wrong." Ruby's small voice spoke up. Raven looked towards Weiss's partner, and Ruby stared in Raven's general direction. "We've done things most would call impossible, and I only know what we could do because we weren't alone! We had people to teach us, help us. We had each other. Work with us! We have a better chance if we try together!"

Weiss felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Raven had that same blank look Weiss often saw on her mother after a hard night of drinking. As if there was nothing left inside of her.

"You sound," Raven says, sounding sad for a moment, before her voice turned cold. A dark look crossed her face. "Just like your mother."

Raven draws her sword, and opens a swirling red portal. Similar to how she opened a portal for her and Yang that led them to Ruby.

Instead of a person emerging from it, fireball shoots out of the vortex, headed straight for Ruby.

"Ruby!" Weiss shouts, but it's too late. Yang steps in front of her sister, and ends up getting knocked back, her own semblance flaring up to take the hit. Yang grunts, but is otherwise unharmed.

A familiar, sly figure emanating a sadistic aura steps out from the portal. A sultry voice that has haunted Weiss's memories since the Vytal Festival says, "Hello, Boys and Girls."

**To Be Continued...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Look Not With the Eyes **

**by thrillerartist **

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN **_**RWBY**_**! **

* * *

**AUTHOR's NOTE:** **So...yeah. I know, I know, it's been a **_**long**_ **time since I've written anything for this story. I don't want to get too specific, so all I can say is that I've been dealing with a lot of personal and family issues, and it's taken a lot out of me. I haven't felt the motivation to write in a while, and even when I do, it's not to my satisfaction. I had to keep starting over. My brain's been a little scattered as of late, and I apologize if this chapter isn't up to its usual quality. I just wanted to continue with the story as best that I could. **

**-thrillerartist**

* * *

**-Jaune- **

Pyrrah's killer emerged from the portal, dressed in a tight, scarlet silk dress, a long sleeve covering her left arm. Half of her face was covered by her short, dark hair. But it was her eyes that did him in. The eyes of a tigress stalking her prey, torturing it before the final killing move. Eyes that would taunt him and flaunt death at the same time.

Jaune's world tunnelled until he saw only one thing.

One _person_, to be exact.

"Hello, boys and girls." Cinder Fall says, her voice still as sly as he remembered, if not a little more raspy. She cocks a hip, resting her exposed arm, and flashes a triumphant smile. Emerald and the Mercury walked behind Cinder, but a new girl with dark hair shorn to the scalp walked beside them.

The memories came just as fast as his fury, and only served to make them that much sharper. That much more painful.

Cinder and her cronies were the ones who infiltrated Beacon Academy.

_They_ led the attack on the Vytal Festival. Cinder was the one who killed Pyrrah at the top of Beacon tower.

Jaune felt his vision tunnel onto only one person. His mind forgot the entire reason for his being there, as his focus switched gear to only one thought:

_Pyrrha...She killed Pyrrah. _

Words were exchanged, he knew, but Jaune couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything except for Cinder and the color red.

"Awww. Don't take it personally, Little Bird." Cinder cooed. "Your sister was a recent addition. The Lion, on the other hand...Entrance into the Vytal Festival was a real treat, but Leonardo's been sending information to Salem for a very, very long time."

_Qrow's sister a traitor. _

_Lionheart's a traitor. _

_Cowards! They're all cowards! _

"Don't beat yourself up, Leonardo." Cinder's voice taunts. "I'm _sure_ Tyrian and Hazel would've found them on their own, eventually."

_Tyrain…The scorpion faunus. The one who tortured Ruby. The one who made her blind. _

Jaune's blood boiled to an impossible temperature, and it took everything in his power not to go over there and rip Cinder's throat right then and there. His muscles felt tight, and his fists clenched so tight that he could feel the circulation be cut off in his fingertips. His breathing became ragged, and his eyes like condensation glass.

"What. Is Wrong. With you?" Jaune's voice cracked with anger. "How can you be so broken inside?" He yelled at Cinder. "To take s_o_ many lives, and then just stand there with that _damn smile_ on your face?! Like it's something to be _proud_ of!" His hand instinctively gripped his sword, his legs forming the fighting stance Pyrrah had grilled into him on the roof of the Beacon dormitory, back when she saw through his stubborn heart.

Jaune expected cinder to smile at him. To mock Pyrrahs memory in this face, flaunt her final moments in front of everyone. Instead, Cinder stares at him blankly.

"I'm gonna make you pay!" Jaune roared. "Do you hear me! I'm gonna make you pay for what you did!"

"Who are you again?" She says simply, a puzzled frown on her face.

_Did what happened at Beacon matter so little to her that she forgot the face of the person who fought him?_

It didn't matter what Cinder remembered. Jaune's vision tunneled further, and before he knew what he was doing, his sword was in his hands, the double blades extending and sharpening. His legs moved before his mind could process it, heading towards the amber-eyed psycho in front of him.

All the while, Cinder Fall wore a self-satisfied smirk.

* * *

**-Ruby-**

The cold metal of chains wrapped around Ruby. She felt thempull her tight, felt the force of her body being ripped through the air and landing on the ground. The sole of a foot planted itself on her back, and Ruby chose that moment to grab the offending limb and yank it to the side. The owner of the foot grunted as they stumbled, and Ruby was able to free herself from the chains.

Then there's the sound of angry voices, grunting noises. The air around her pulses with anger and bloodlust as bodies on both sides of the room converge on each other.

The sound of metal hitting a solid object.

The touch of a familiar hand on her back.

"It's me." Nora's voice says. "You alright?"

"Peachy." Ruby grunted. "I'm guessing it's Emerald in front of us?"

"Yeah." Nora confirmed, her voice stoic.

Suddenly, ruby senses an ominous force in the air, and gets a familiar tingling sensation in her gut. _Grimm, _Ruby thought. _There's a Grimm nearby! _

But there was no growling, no scent of sulfur in the air. All Ruby could smell was sweat and anger, but her ears picked up on the sounds of Jaune and Cinders' voices close together. The rhythmic grunting and sounds of clashing metal told Ruby that they were engaged in battle.

The room felt like it was closing in on Ruby. her temperature rose, and she felt the room grow hotter. And then hears Jaune yell. The sensation of the Grimm's presence was getting closer and closer to Jaune. Ruby didn't know how, but she could picture Jaune running towards something dangerous, his sword raised in the sky, screaming at the top of his lungs in fury. All of this flashed across her mind in only a few seconds.

And then Ruby remembered that night on the roof of Beacon. When Cinder Fall shot Pyrrah through the heart when she was on her knees. When Ruby could do nothing but watch.

And right now, she feared that the same fate would take Jaune away from her.

_No. Not again! _

A hot sensation flashed across Ruby's forehead. She screamed in fury and pain as she felt her eyeballs nearly explode. She could sense a change in temperature in the room, and then the brilliance of light that she couldn't exactly see, but feel it.

But the warmth and comfort of the light was quickly drowned out by the intense ringing in her ears.

Ruby falls to her knees, panting, clutching the staff of her scythe for balance. But it's too much. The world was quickly spiraling into a sensation of darkness, and pain, and noise, followed by a weary sensation that drained her will to fight.

When the darkness came for Ruby, she couldn't help but succumb to it.

* * *

**-Weiss- **

After Jaune charged Cinder, all hell broke loose at Haven. Weiss watched Cinder summon a glass sword, effectively blocking Jaune's strike.

Then Yang charged Mercury Black, the two brawlers going head-to-head for the first time since their duels at Beacon and the Vytal Fest.

"Jaune!" Ruby screamed. Weiss had never heard Ruby make that sound before today, and it chilled her blood. Ruby ran forward, towards the sound of Jaune's grunting and yelling, and before Yang could step in, Emerald threw her chains around Ruby, and yanked her to the ground.

"You're not getting near her, you Blind Mouse." Emerald smirked.

Emerald drew her guns, aiming for Ruby's struggling figure, but Nora's charge interrupted Emerald's attack, knocking Emerald into the wall with her hammer, separating her from Ruby.

Qrow charged his sister, and Raven blocked him with her crimson sword.

All that happened in the background around Weiss. Her tactical mind processed her surroundings, while the vagabond from the bandit camp-Raven's thug, Vernal-approached Weiss, brandishing her weapons.. "Let's see what the Schnee name _really_ means." Vernal smirked.

Weiss raises her rapier in response, the point directed towards her enemy."I'm more than a name!" She says, her voice challenging.

Vernal scoffs. "Then prove it," and she lunges for Weiss. Weiss immediately summons a gravity glyph, pushing herself towards Vernal at lightning speed.

Vernal throws her weapons towards Weiss, two circular blades held by the inside. It was a brutal weapon, fit for a member of Raven's bandit tribe. Weiss dodges Verna's attacks by using her glyphs, jumping and landing in midair, before firing off more obstacles towards Vernal.

Eventually, though, Weiss is knocked down from one of her glyphs by a shot from Vernal's weapons.

_Of course, _Weiss thought, _it's also a gun. _She grimaced as she physically felt her Aura deplete.

_I'm a bit rustier than I thought I'd be, _Weiss lamented as she rose to her feet. _But I refuse to lose here. _

But before Weiss can climb to her feet again, Vernal lunches towards her. Weiss summons another Glyph to block her, combining it with a capsule of ice dust. A frozen wall of blue and white rose from the ground like the sun in the sky.

With a barrier between herself and her opponent, weiss allowed herself to fall to her knees. She planted Myrnaster into the carpeted floor, concentrating. Her forehead leaned against the hilt, almost in a prayer.

_Please_, Weiss thought. _Come to my aid again. Just like before…_

A circle of light appears on the ground, and a ghostly hand emerges from it. But before it can complete its summon, a cut across the ice destroys it. The force of the strike even forces Weiss off balance, staring at vernal, who was smugly dusting off her blades.

"Don't think I'm going to let you take the easy way out." Vernal says with a poisonous smile, and she lunges at Weiss again. Weiss switches to fully defensive tactics, blocking the shots from Vernal's peculiar gun-knife weapons

Eventually though, Weiss begins feeling the pressure of the fight. With her Aura quickly depleting, she knew that it was only a matter of time before Vernal took the upper hand. She held up her rapier, took a deep breath-

And another shot lands in her back, depleting her Aura further. Weiss's personal shield glowed a dusty blue color before fading.

_That's not good. _

Another shot fired, but she was able to dodge it this time.

Another lull in the fighting. Vernal's a bit of a distance from her, and Weiss knew she had to take advantage of that. Again, she stops and tries to summon another knight, only to be shot again. She falls to the ground, exhausted, sore, but too determined to keep fighting. She looked down at her arms, only to see her Aura flicker and died out.

She was running dangerously low on Aura. one more blow, and she'd start taking the serious damage herself.

At Beacon, this moment would end a match.

But this wasn't Beacon.

_I refuse to back down! _Weiss thought, her fists clenched. She begins picking herself up off of the ground, seeing Vernal stalk towards her like a predator, her eyes saying "stay down or face the consequences".

It wasn't the first time Weiss has seen that look.

_All my life,_ Weiss thought, _I've given in to the powers that outclassed mine._ She closed her eyes, and took a breath. _Not here. _

_Not today. _

She hears a masculine scream.

_Jaune? _

Then there's the shrill screech of her partner. She wanted to look over and check if her friend was okay, but she couldn't afford to take her eyes off of Vernal.

_Where's my weapon? _

Suddenly, a gentle yet powerful warmth spreads throughout the room, and she becomes engulfed in a blinding white light. The light is so powerful that it blinds her completely, here's a white flash throughout the room, and she can no longer see anything in front of her, and she fears that she has forever lost her sight.

_Is this what Ruby sees? _Weiss thought. _Is this all she gets when she opens her eyes? _

And then, just as quickly as it comes, the light fades away. The room emerges from the light, just as it was, but the fighting has stopped. Everyone pauses from their personal brawls, and stares in awe and confusion at the girl lying in the middle of the room.

_Ruby! _

A surge of protectiveness engulfs Weiss, and though she knows Vernal won't let her pass, she wants to get to her fallen friend.

She pushes herself up, to an almost kneeling position, spotting her weapon out of the corner of her eye-

Something so hot that she loses sensation hits her from behind.

Her back and side hurt…

Did she get hit?

Her heart drops, her throat bobs in fear, and she has to force herself to look at her wound.

She was expecting many things. Pyrrah's old weapon sticking out of her wasn't one of them.

Pyrrah's beloved weapon Milo was planted in the middle of her stomach.

All composure Weiss forced herself to have had completely fallen apart. Her breath hitched, and before she can put her hand on her wound, Milo dissolves into a cloud of black dust.

Her wound gushes blood, and with every quickening beat of her heart, more and more seeps out of her.

Something warm and metallic filled her mouth. It was quickly getting harder and harder to breathe, and no matter how fast or how hard she forced air into her lungs, it never felt enough.

Her vision tunneled, the edges of her peripherals darkening until the world became on, big balck hole, taking her consciousness with her.

The last thing she could sense was a panicked, familiar voice shouting her name:

"WEISS!"

* * *

**-Nora-**

On one side of the room, poor Ruby was lying on the ground, unconscious. One the other side, Jaune was running over to Weiss, who had Pyrrah's weapon, Milo, sticking out of her, before it vanished. Jaune held on to Weiss as she fell back to the ground, and began putting pressure on her wound with his hands.

Seeing ruby laying on the ground sent a spark of anger through Nora. Anger, Fear, Rage, she felt it all and yet suppressed it all as she knelt down beside Ruby to check her for injury and signs of life.

_We're dropping like flies, and the bad guys gonna try to get to the vault! _

Nora looked up. There was just one member of their party who wasn't preoccupied at the moment. Yang was standing, dumbfounded, her eyes bouncing between Ruby and Weiss, wide and alert with fear.

"Yang!" Nora shouted. "Go after them! We've got your team, just GO!"

Yang blinked, surprised, before nodding, and running off toward the vault entrance, which Cinder and her cronies had begun descending to. Lionheart-that lying coward-had opened it for them.

_RNJR is a stupid name! _She remembered saying to Ren back in the forests of Anima. It had been such a petty debate, whose initials would start the team name. But in the recent months, Nora had begun to look to Ruby as a true leader, and an even greater friend.

Nora looks at Ruby's scarred face. There were no scrunches or wrinkles that indicated pain, it just looked like Ruby fell asleep in the middle of the fight.

Oscar appears beside Nora, kneels down and begins to desperately shake Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby!" He shouts. "Get up! We need you!" He cries. But Ruby wouldn't stir, wouldn't respond.

_Maybe she exerted herself too much? _Nora thought. _Or maybe she wasn't as healed as we thought? _

Looking behind her, she sees Ren standing over Jaune, who had begun tending to Weiss's wounds.

_The bad guys are going after the Relic, we're being attacked by former allies, and two of our fighters are down. _

Nora stood, gripping her hammer tight, and began beggin to the gods she had just learned existed. _Please…_, she thought, _please, don't let this be another Beacon. _

**To Be Continued…**


	10. Chapter 10

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN **_**RWBY**_**!**

**Look Not With the Eyes **

**By thrillerartist **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** **A special thanks to the author Santinos for giving me some new and awesome ideas for this story! It really helped me get some new ideas for how the story would go from here on out. Thank you! **

**To fill in some blanks on why I've been so absent, a close relative of mine has been diagnosed with cancer, and my family has had to move in with them to help take care of them. The pandemic is making an already **_**incredibly**_ **stressful situation all the more challenging, but we're getting through it best we can. Things have been getting a little bit better, albeit very slowly. We received good news a little while ago, and it's made us all a little more hopeful. **

**Hopefully, things will **_**keep**_ **getting better for my family. Until then, I'm just trying to focus on taking one day at a time. **

**I hope everyone here is staying safe and healthy during the pandemic. I don't mean to sound naggy, and you've probably all heard this enough, but **_**PLEASE WEAR YOUR MASKS AND WASH YOUR HANDS!**_

**Wow, that...yeah that was a little demanding, but you know what I'm trying to say. Be safe, and stay safe, guys! **

**And with that, I present to you another chapter. I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to publish again. **

**-thrillerartist**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Defiant**

_In all the stories Yang read to me when I was growing up, there was always one common theme: At a hero's darkest hour, they'd suddenly awaken a secret power inside of them (or, more realistically, reinforcements came in). But in every case, no matter what they were facing, the hero refused to give in or surrender the fight, even though the world wasn't going to give them anything in return. Even though the things they fought for were either gone, even though the people they fought for were mean and ungrateful. When the world tried to break them down, the heroes in my stories always, _always_, rose to the occasion. _

_That's the difference between heroes and villains, I think. Villains let the cruelties of the world turn them into monsters who wished to make everyone as miserable as they were; meanwhile, a hero-the ones I read about, at least-never let cruelties of the world break them._

* * *

**-Oscar- **

The old man wasn't familiar to Oscar, yet he still had the sense that he knew them. First he tried running away from the fight, and then, once he realized that Oscar was Ozpin's new host, the older man decided to Oscar with his tricked out crossbow-thing.

A flash of this man as younger, having darker hair and fewer worry-lines, came through Oscar's mind, even though the memory wasn't his. A deep feeling of shock and betrayal settled in Oscar's gut, making him sick and angry at the same time.

_Must be Ozpin's memories, _Oscar thought. _But I don't think I trusted this guy to begin with. _

And the reason why was clear once Oscar looked into the old man's eyes: he saw that they were dead to everything but fear. The eyes of a man who wanted to run away from problems that were too big for him to face alone. The reality was, Lionheart didn't have to face his problems alone.

He _chose _to.

**We need to join the fight**, Ozpin said. **We can't let him get to the vault. **

As soon as Oscar extended his cane, Lionheart's eyes lit up with fear, and fought Oscar like his life depended on it. Then the old man started rambling, claiming that it wasn't his fault, that this was the only way. Then the sound of Ruby's scream stopped his heart, but the flash of light that followed engulfed everyone to hit "pause" on their own fights. The blonde boy, Jaune, screamed "WEISS!", and the sound of footsteps echoed through the room.

He knew that one of his friends was in trouble, but Oscar didn't dare take his eyes off of Lionheart, despite seeing a fallen red cape out of the corner of his eye. Oscar forced himself to stay focused on Lionheart-who couldn't help but look across the room in guilt.

_He's open! _Oscar thought, choosing that moment to hit Leo in the head with the tip of his cane, stunning the old headmaster so that Oscar could run and check on Ruby. She was laying on the ground, her right arm pinned under her torso, her weapon just out of her reach.

"Ruby!" Oscar yelled, kneeling on the floor and shaking her shoulders. She was lying on her side, half her face resting on the ground as if she were asleep. He scanned her body for wounds, looking for any cut, bruise, something that would explain what was wrong. But there wasn't a scratch on her. It was as if she just fell asleep right in the middle of the battle.

For some reason, the lack of wounds makes it all the more terrifying. "Get _UP_!" Oscar screamed in desperation, "Ruby, we _need_ you!" and kept shaking her still form on the ground. He didn't see the big man across the room looking over at him, didn't see him glaring in anger; Oscar only heard him shout, "OZPIN!" in a guttural voice.

_Uh, have anything to explain to me, dude? _Oscar asked Ozpin. But Oz didn't fill him in, only told Oscar to run for his life. The man, who looked more like a bear, actually, stabbed himself with large energy dust crystals before charging Oscar. Thankfully, the black-hared huntsman-Qrow-was able to get him out of the way in time, but Oscar still ended up being thrown against the marble walls of the academy.

_Who is this Guy? _Oscar thought, keeping his body primed for a last minute get away.

_**He is Hazel Reinhart,**_ Ozpin's voice replied. _**And he is a very dangerous, very skilled huntsman.**_

Oscar couldn't see this huge man beating up on Qrow as ever having been on Ozpin's side. _So what's he got against you, then? _

_**Please, **_Ozpin said, dodging the question. _**Let me help! Let me take over, I can handle him! **_

"No!" Oscar yelled. He didn't want to be a puppet in his own body. This was still _his_ body, _his_ mind, and _he_ wanted to fight for this _himself_. Oscar would prove that the reason he was here was justified. He would prove himself a warrior.

But Ozpin was having none of it. _**Oscar-**_

"You said I needed to fight my own battles," Oscar said. "Well, I'm fighting this one!"

_**This fight isn't yours!**_

"He didn't tell you my story?" The big man-Hazel-growled in a voice that sounded like a broken radio speaker: deep, garbled, and downright _terrifying_. "It doesn't matter." Hazel continued. "Your blood will still be on my hands, and that evil inside of you will be cleansed."

"What is he talking about?" Oscar yelled, brandishing his weapon in his hands, grabbing the cane with both hands. Oscar could only watch as Qrow fought against a man twice his size, his sword never even landing a scratch on Hazel's skin.

"Tell him, Ozpin!" Hazel roared, barely flinching as Qrow pressed all his might into his sword. "Tell him how you _killed_ her!" And then he threw Qrow against the wall as if he were nothing but a broken toy.

"Her?" Oscar repeated, afraid of the answer. _What's he talking about, Ozpin? _

**Gretchen Rainart was a student of mine.** Ozpin said, sadly. **Against her brother's wishes, she enrolled in Beacon to become a huntress. She attended a training mission, where she tragically lost her life. Hazel holds me responsible for her death. Please, let **_**me**_ **fight him. I can handle Hazel. I know him. **

As if Hazel could hear the internal dialogue, he roars at Oscar "Now you know!", and then begins lumbering closer to him. "Now you can forgive what I'm about to do!" Hazel shouted in pure hatred.

_This_ was hatred. _This_ was the thing that blinded people to see things as they really are. Oscar wasn't really ever good with understanding why people did the things they did, especially when it came to harming others. But when he looked at Hazel, Oscar could only see the despairing big-brother who was only looking for someone to blame for the loss of his little sister.

But Hazel's sister, Gretchen, made her own choices; she chose to undergo training to be a huntress. And when you choose that, you also have to choose the dangers and consequences that can come with it.

"Did your sister understand!?" Oscar screamed at Hazel, still holding the cane in a defensive position. If he could get Hazel to see that it wasn't anyone's fault, maybe he could stop fighting for Salem. "Did she know what she was risking in becoming a huntress?" Oscar asked.

"SHE WAS A CHILD!" Hazel screamed, his face radiating fury, and Oscar could almost feel Hazel's pain in that moment. "SHE WASN'T _READY_!"

Oscar's parents died when he was young, and all the family he had ever known was his aunt back on the farm. He wasn't old enough to feel the loss of someone he loved, but the man inside of him felt empathy towards Hazel. Ozpin understood Hazel's pain all the same, and that empathy was shared with Oscar. They both understood that grief made broken people do horrible things.

But that didn't justify at all what Hazel was doing. Just because you were engulfed in despair, it didn't give you the right to make everyone else feel the same way.

"She made a choice!" Oscar said, hearing the brave words Ruby spoke to him back at the house in Mistral. "She chose to put others before herself!" He gripped hte handle of the cane tighter. "So do I."

Hazel snarled, and hunched his shoulders in a sort of fighting stance. "Then you choose death."

_**Oscar.**_ Ozpin said. _**I'm sorry. **_

And then a dizzy spell shot through Oscar as the man inside his head took control of his body.

* * *

**-Ruby-**

She remembered a panicked voice ringing in her ears. A hand shaking her awake.

Since she could no longer be blinded by light after opening her eyes, her body compensated by sending waves of pain slicing across her forehead, making her eyeballs feel like they were retracting back into their sockets.

"Mhm…" Ruby groaned, pushing her arms underneath herself, and pushing up to rest on her knees. A hand wrapped around hers once she was stable, and helped Ruby get to her feet. As usual, Ruby only saw darkness around her, but a tiny wave of dizziness swept through her where she lay. She closed her eyes again, trying to calm down her system; when she forced them open again, something seemed different.

A tiny blurry spot in her dark field of vision, Almost like-

Ruby gasped. It was a teeny, tiny, spot in her left eye, but she could almost swear that she was _seeing _something. Something indistinct, no more than a patch of pale-grey light, but she was seeing all the same. _This can't be real! _Ruby thought.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked, her concern lacing her voice.

"I'm...not sure." Ruby stumbled. She rubbed her sore eyes, seeing if it was a trick of the mind. It wasn't. The light-blot was still there. "I'm alright, though." Ruy confirmed. "I'm okay."

"You sure?" Nora asked again.

"Positive."

_Whatever it is that's happening to my eye, _Ruby thought, _it can wait a little longer. _

A raspy, shaky breath engulfed Ruby's much more sensitive ears, and knowing that it was one of her friends, Ruby ran towards the sound. The scent of roses engulfed her nose, and she knew that her semblance was just activated-the first time since her attack.

Ruby!" Jaune yells in surprise when she materializes in front of him.

"What happened?" Ruby asked, feeling in front of her. The texture of a silk shirt and skirt. Long, silky hair.

_Weiss. _

Ruby felt something sticky on her fingers. A metallic smell replaces the scent of roses.

_Blood...Weiss is hurt! _

"What happened?!" Ruby asks.

"I...Cinder," Jaune was in shock, stammering as he tried to get the words out. "…She just-"

_Cinder attacked Weiss. _Ruby thought. _Probably shot her with another one of her arrows. _

Ruby immediately had the mental image of Cinder shooting Pyrrah through the heart at the top of the Beacon clocktower. Never before had Ruby felt so helpless, to see a friend die right in front of her, and know that there was nothing she could've done to stop it.

_I'm not helpless. _Ruby thought.

A feeling of warmth emanated right in front of Ruby. She reached forward, and felt a calming heat coming from a pair of gloved hands. And out of that tiny, tiny spot of blurry vision in Ruby's right eye, came a faint glow.

Ruby reached for Jaune's hands, and lifted them up from Weiss's body. The warm light tickled Ruby's fingers, and she knew that it was coming from Jaune.

_Guess he finally unlocked his Semblance. _Ruby thought.

"Is she going to be alright?" Ruby asked, retracting her hands.

"I...I think so." Ren's voice said, startling Ruby a little. "She seems to be stabilizing."

Ruby nodded her head, and then reached for her folded scythe. "Whatever it is you're doing, don't stop!" She said. "I'm going to go help Yang."

"Oscar needs help, too." Ren said. "I'll go cover him."

Ruby stops him, saying "Someone needs to guard Jaune."

A heavy _thunk!_ to her left. "No one's touch'n em'!" Nora chirped.

Ruby nodded, grabbed her scythe behind her back, and took off in the direction she remembered seeing Yang in.

"Keep up the good work, RNJR!" She calls.

From the corner of her right eye, she saw Mercury rearing back for a kick. Ruby swung her scythe towards his foot, knocking him off balance, and getting him away from Yang.

"Thanks, Sis." Yang said. "You okay?"

"No." Ruby said softly. "I'm angry." And then she lunged at Mercury again.

"Switch!" Yang said, and like clockwork, Ruby jumped to her right, while she sensed Yang leap to her right, and together they ran towards Mercury. Ruby swung her end of her blade towards where she estimated his feet would be from the sound of the mechanics of them. But her weapon was knocked out of her hands instead. She heard Crescent Rose fall to the ground on her right side.

Her right side…

"Uh-Oh." Mercury taunted. "What're you gonna do now without your weapon?"

Ruby swung back around, turning her head slightly so that she could see the body from that one spot in her eye. Mercury punched, and Ruby ducked on instinct, before jumping up, and ramming her head against the bottom of his jaw. She heard his feet stumble back, and she grabbed her weapon off the ground. "Whatever it takes to shut you up." Ruby snapped.

They continued the fight, attacking and dodging, dodging and attacking. Mercury managed to land more than a few hits on Ruby, but that was only from when she stepped back into her former long-range style of fighting. That, she realized, was going to be harder to break than she thought.

_Close. _She remembered Ozpin's lessons. _Stay close to him. _

Something chilled the air, pursued by a buzzing sound like a hive of bees. Or electricity…

Mercury and Emerald didn't miss a beat. The fight continued, the sounds of battle getting louder and more desperate around her. Ruby fought by her sister's side, even though her tired muscles screamed at her to quit.

_I don't quit. _Ruby thought. _I never have. _

And then Ruby smelled ozone. She heard Nora scream, which was followed by a huge clap of lightning, followed by a crash, which told Ruby that someone had got sent through a wall. Again.

Then there was the sound of screaming, and the smells of fresh air, gunpowder, dust, things that Ruby had begun to associate with fights. But there was something familiar in the mix, too. Something that was distinctly spicelike and aromatic, kinda like the teas Blake used to always brew in their dorm room.

Ruby was too busy focusing on the smells and sounds around her, and she didn't notice that she'd lost Yang in the midst of it. Ruby began to panic a little, but forced herself to remain calm. _Listen. _She thought.

"Blake?" Yang said, standing just behind Ruby. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, before registering what her sister had just said.

"Yang?" Blake's voice. Ruby didn't know if she'd ever hear that voice again. Blake sounded just as surprised as Ruby felt.

Ruby turned her head to try and get a look of things, and out of the spot in her eye where she was allowed cloudy vision, Ruby saw Yang's yellow hair staying still.

_Where's Cinder?_ Ruby suddenly thought.

"Yang!" Ruby screamed. "GO!"

Yang's hair quickly left Ruby's field of vision, leaving the fight behind her.

* * *

**-Yang- **

Yang didn't know what freaked her out more. The fact that her old partner was standing just outside the new door Nora made, or the fact that Weiss could summon giant frozen bugs, not just giant knights.

_Guess I shouldn't...BUG her anymore, right? _Yang mused for a second. _FOCUS! _

Nothing going on right now mattered, nothing except for getting to the vault and stopping Cinder and Raven and Vernal.

Emerald had tried to stop her, but she ducked out of the way. But Mercury managed to grab her mechanical arm, sending waves of frustration through Yang.

_Don't stop me. _Yang thought. _I'll kick your ass into the ground. I'll break those metal legs of yours. I'll-_

And then she remembered her dad's words.

_You don't always have to fight through your problems._

_There's always another way around it. _

There was another way...and it was in the new trick in her bionic arm.

_I'm angry._ Yang thought. _At so MANY things….but now isn't the time for me to be angry. _

She took a deep breath, and disengaged her arm from the metal plating in her skin. Now free of the weight of Mercury, Yang was all the more faster getting away, no longer unbalanced by her missing limb. She didn't even bother to look back and see Mercury trip over himself after losing his target.

Instead, Yang bolted to the hole in the floor, and jumped down the chute that led to the vault. Leaving the fight behind her.

The wind whistled through Yang's ears and hair, cooling the sweat on her face.

_Feels weird, leaving the fight behind me, _Yang thought.

Yang had never, _ever_, run from a fight before in her life. If a brawl broke out-whether she started it or not-she was _always_ around to finish the fight. Her anger and her fists had gotten her in trouble plenty of times, but they also got her out of many sticky situations.

Except when it didn't.

_**A flash of fire, a red-haired man in a mask, a girl lying on the ground, and the glint of a red sword swinging down at her. **_

Yang just kept falling and falling deeper into the darkness. Just waiting for the ominous light at the end of the vertical tunnel.

_It was dark that night, too. _Yang thought.

_**The mocking words of a stalker, a scream of vengeance, and the sound**_ **of** _**her weapon going off. **_

Right now, Yang could hear her heart in her ears, shouting and clashing in the distance, and the echoes of noises she'd been used to hearing in fights.

_**Smells of smoke and sweat assault her nose, choking her. **_

The vault smells just like she'd expected: damp and musty. But there's something else, too. Something almost dry, like paper.

_**The touch of a blade slicing through her skin. The pain that followed. Blood, so much blood- **_

She lands with a THUD, putting out her one arm to help break her fall. Her wound throbbed with pain as the memories came back quicker.

_I'm not there, _Yang thought. _I'm at Haven. I'm not dying. I have a job to do, and I'll be damned if I don't do it! _

Yang took a breath, and looked up ahead of her.

There was no Cinder. The body of Raven's protege, Vernal, lay in the corner.

The only person staring back at Yang, was her mother.

And Raven Branwen looked ready for a fight.

* * *

**-Blake-**

She didn't exactly _plan_ on finding her friends in the middle of the battle at Haven. That one just sort of happened; but, if she were being honest, Blake wasn't too surprised to see them here.

Weiss had looked at her with surprise. Yang just looked...shocked. And Ruby...Blake couldn't really see Ruby's face. It was like she was listening more than she was seeing.

But that look that Yang gave her, it made Blake feel uneasy. She knew she'd have to face the music soon enough, but Blake wasn't ready for that just yet.

There were two fights going on, one in front of her and one behind her. Her friends that she'd left behind, and the family that she'd returned to.

_Okay, which one is the more immediate threat? _Blake thought. Adam was going to attack this school and make it another Beacon. If she didn't stop him and his White Fang, there's no telling how many more lives would be lost, to the radical Faunus and to the Grimm they could attract.

_I have to finish what I started. _Blake thought. _No more running. _

Though it pained her, she turned back towards the fight taking place behind her. Adam and his forces were quickly surrounded by the people of Menagerie, armed and ready to defend Haven Academy. With the police forces of Mistral, along with the forces that came from Menagerie, what was left of the White Fang quickly surrendered. Blake scans her eyes across the crowd, searching for the man who needed to be stopped tonight.

Red hair slicked back, exposing two sharp, bone-white horns. Adam Taurus.

Her former friend, and her first love. The same man who called her a coward was himself running away from a fight that he'd started.

_And he called me a coward. _Blake thought, a slimy taste forming in her mouth. She chased after him, called to him as they were just leaving the crowd and the school behind them. Adam stopped, and turned to face her, that annoying smirk on his face. Like he'd won even though he was still losing.

"I'm going to make you regret ever coming back." Adam said calmly, yet still full of malevolence. Blake didn't need to see his eyes to know that he was simmering with anger.

"More police are on their way, Adam." Blake said. "Huntsmen, too." She forced herself to stay calm, forcing her voice not to tremble. She did not want to fight him again, because, if she were honest, Blake wasn't sure what she'd do to Adam after what he'd done at Beacon.

But Adam seemed to find Blake's warning rather funny. He chuckled, and said. "You're still too afraid to fight me yourself, eh?" He was mocking her for calling in reinforcements to take down a radicalized group. Mocking her, because she had reached out for help from the very people she fought against at his side.

_There is more to the world that you made it out to be, Adam. _Blake thought. _No one can do something completely alone. _

In her time at the White Fang, Blake saw Adam go down a road of selfishness, malice, deceit, and bloodlust. But it was always, _always, _centered around him. Always "_I'm_ doing this for the Faunus", "_I'll_ make the humans pay", "_I'll_ lead the faunus out of the system!".

Blake had had enough.

"I'm here for Haven, Adam." Blake said, calmly and cooly. "_Not you_."

Adam drew his sword sheath, a hidden shotgun, and aimed it at her face. Blake drew her katana in response, and crouched to form her combat stance.

Adam laughed once, and smiled. "You're still afraid of me. And you should be. I've made some _powerful_ friends while you're been away."

"Oh, yeah?" A new voice joined in. Sun, that nosy, monkey-tailed friend, showed up behind Adam, his bow staff armed and ready. "Where are they?" Sun asked.

"Does Blake make all of her classmates fight for her?" Adam asked Sun, leveling his sword at Sun's throat.

"Nah." Sun said, twirling his staff for intimidation. "It's a volunteer gig. And for someone who claims they have powerful friends, there don't seem to be many people willing to fight for you." Sun pointed his thumb towards the campus square, where dozens of White Fang members were dropping their weapons in surrender. Adam kept turning his head back and forth, looking at his footmen. He roared in frustration, slashed at Sun, who deflected each of Adam's blows with his bow staff. Blake joined in, attacking Adam from behind, only being blocked by his plated sheath. Adam quickly ducked out and ran into the woods, Sun following close behind him.

"Sun, wait!" Blake called.

"But we-"

"Don't follow him." Blake said, sheathing her sword behind her. "He just wants to lure us away so he can pick us off one by one. Besides." Blake looked up at her friend, who followed her across Remnant, despite what she told him. The same boy who convinced her that no one could fight their battles completely alone. The same boy who called her out on her crap, but also let her vent to him and get all her negative thoughts out.

"Let's let Adam see what it feels like to run." Blake smiled. Sun gave her a toothy grin, his blue eyes sparkling even though it was night.

"Thank you, Sun." Blake said. "For everything."

"I'll always be here if you ever need help." Sun smiles. There's a crash, a scream, and both look towards the hole in the wall of Haven academy. "But it looks like there's some people in there who could use some from you." Sun says. "I'll take care of the stragglers."

"I can't thank you enough." Blake says. Sun smiles,and rests a hand on her shoulder. The light in his eyes reached into her soul, and Blake couldn't tell if the flurry in her gut was from him, or from the fact that her old team was literally fighting a few feet away.

She grabs Sun's hand, squeezes it, and then runs towards the secondary battle.

_I'm coming, _Blake thought.

* * *

**To Be Continued…**


	11. Chapter 11

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN **_**RWBY**_**! **

**Look Not with the Eyes**

**By thrillerartist**

* * *

**Chapter 11: All the Broken Places**

_Growing up on Patch, I was never intentionally looking for trouble. Trouble either found me, or I had just gotten lost in my own head long enough to find myself in it. _

_One time, I was playing Huntress in the living room of our house on Patch, and I had accidentally knocked over a vase that Dad always displayed on a shelf in the living room. I bumped into it, and the vase fell to the floor. Dad came running in at the sound of the crash, finding me on the floor trying to pick up the shards with my hands, cutting myself in the process. Dad scooped me up, and whisked me over to the kitchen counter. He bandaged my hands, and gave me a little scolding about why I shouldn't be playing Huntress in the house. I wasn't in trouble, exactly, but Dad was pretty disappointed in me, saying that the vase that broke belonged to someone special. _

_I asked him who the vase belonged to, but he only looked at me sadly, and sent me off to my room while he swept up the shards. _

_I found out from Yang that the vase belonged to my mother, that she'd used it to put her flowers in it during the summer._

_I didn't want him to be sad, and I wanted to show him that I was sorry for what I did. I'd found the bucket he'd put the shards in by the trash, and hid it in my closet. When Dad went to the store later that night, I got a bottle of paste from my craft bucket, and started carefully putting the vase back together the best that I could. I gave myself a few more cuts on my hands, but they were scars that I was proud to have gotten. _

_The next morning, Dad walked out of his room to find me standing in front of his door. I was holding the vase behind my back, and when he asked me what I was up to now, I carefully pulled the vase out into the open. Dad was pretty impressed that a six-year old could pull off such a puzzle, but I think he was more touched that I'd thought to fix the vase myself. _

_It was _my _mistake; no matter how innocent it was at the time, it was still _my _mistake to fix. _

_That vase was never as strong as it once was. It broke several times after that, simply just by being handled. But each time it broke, I found better materials to use, better glues, stronger reinforcers, until it became less and less fragile. _

_It was never as strong as it was, but it was close enough. And in some places, that vase was more durable; but others simply couldn't be fixed. Chips and flecks and pieces that couldn't be found, or were swept up and thrown away. _

_The vase still has some holes in it that've been filled with adhesive, and I think that those little spots are what helps strengthen it. _

_People can be like that vase, sometimes. People can break, and be put back together into the same shape they were before, but they'll always have cracks in the varnish. In some places they're more fragile, and in others they're stronger. But the thing about putting broken pieces back together, is that there's no telling what type of shape the person can make the vase into. It can either be something painstakingly repairable, or can be considered unsalvageable and thrown away. _

_It all depends on the type of vase it once was, as well as the type of craftsmen tasked with putting it back together. _

_I wonder, which one am I? _

_Am I the vase, or am I the craftsman? _

_Lately, the only answer I can come to, is "both". _

* * *

**-Weiss- **

She started to hear a dull ringing in her ears, followed by a fierce pressure right above where her spleen would be. Two hands emanating something warm, and also caked with something sticky and metallic smelling.

"-eiss?"

That voice, she knew it somehow!

Her breathing was becoming easier. It didn't feel like she was choking on air anymore.

"Weiss?" A male voice said, and Weiss recognized it as that doofus, Jaune.

She opened her eyes, and saw his blonde mess of hair and blue eyes staring down at her.

"What's-" She croaked before coughing to regain her breath.

"It's okay," Jaune said, sounding serious and relieved at the same time. "You're going to be alright, Ice Queen."

"Idiot." Weiss coughed out.

Eventually, Jaune lifted his hands off of Weiss's side, and held out his hands over her like he was casting a spell. A warm, white light emanated from his hands, flowing onto her, and replenishing her aura while healing her wounds.

"Jaune?" Weiss said once breathing was more controlled.

"Yeah." He says, glancing over her briefly, trying to keep his focus.

"Thanks." Weiss says, the words sounding weird on her tongue.

Jaune gently smiled at her, and said, "You're welcome, Ice Queen."

_Huh...Have I ever said anything nice to him? _Weiss thought.

Soon enough, she could sit up, and a few moments after that, she was standing and fighting. She even managed to summon a Lancer-this time cloaked in a white light, instead of the black figures of most Grimm-which she used to target the big man who kept stabbing himself with dust crystals.

When she scanned her eyes across the room, she found Ruby battling Mercury in close-combat (Which Ruby had _vastly _improved upon since the last time Weiss had seen her), but couldn't see Yang's wild blonde hair anywhere.

_Yang left the fight,_ Weiss gathered, _so she's probably chasing after Cinder and her mother into the vault of Haven. That short-haired vagabond-Vernal- isn't here, either. I hope Yang can handle three one one...Yeah, she totally can. _

Out of the corner of Weiss's eye, she saw the headmaster of Haven, Lionheart, backing away towards the stairs, moving from the fight.

_Not today, you cowardly lion! _Weiss thought, focusing on her Lancer summon. _Take care of him!_

The summon immediately turned on Lionheart, spitting ice crystals at the older man. Lionheart immediately began blocking them with his shield/crossbow weapon strapped to his arm. When the Lancer stopped its attack to replenish itself, Lionheart took the chance to attack, shooting a blast of fire-dust at the ghostly Lancer. The wasp-like creature was blown backwards towards the middle of the room, where the big man was fighting three opponents. As soon as the big man saw Weiss's summon, he shot at it fire _from his hands, _and the summon vanished in a puff of steam.

_Okay, _Weiss thought, gripping her . _So...the summons aren't fireproof, apparently. _When she taps into her aura, seeing how much she had left inside. Weiss felt her brows draw in when she realized that she didn't have enough left for another summons. Not at this rate, at least.

_Okay, new plan. _Weiss thought. _I can still- _

A form clad in a white over-coat jumped through, and landed beside Weiss and Ruby, who was still looking straight ahead at...well, nothing in particular, but she was clearly focusing on the fight.

"Weiss, who just landed beside me?" Ruby thought. "Because she smells _a lot _like Blake's teas."

"It is." Weiss said. "Blake, I mean, not her teas."

"Are you hurt?" Blake looked at Weiss as she drew her weapon, then she turned to look at Ruby. "Ruby, what-"

"No time, later!" Ruby snapped. Weiss could see Ruby was gripping Crescent Rose so tight, her knuckles were white.

_Definitely later._ Weiss thought.

Weiss turned back, seeing the three remaining foes padding towards them. Mercury, the big man, and Emerald.

"What's the plan, Ruby?" Weiss asked her partner.

Ruby-for whatever reason-turned her head to the side, so her right eye was facing out. "Checkmate!" She called, and Weiss and Blake immediately sprung into action as Ruby followed behind them with her scythe.

* * *

**-Yang- **

So far, all Yang had received from her mother was denial, poor excuses for choices Raven had made and a contradictory sense of morality.

Raven was neither strong nor merciful-she was whatever she needed to be to stay alive. Yang could see that in the older woman's eyes, as red and angry as blood. It was then that Yang knew that there was no reasoning with Raven, only demanding. And if anyone was good at demanding things, it was Yang.

"You're going to give me the relic." Yang said, standing tall and making it obvious she wasn't asking.

Raven scoffed and rolled her eyes. "And why would I-"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE AFRAID OF SALEM!" Yang shouted. "And if you thought being a _maiden_ was putting a target on your back, imagine what Salem will do when she finds out you have a _relic_."

And there it was. Raven's breaking point.

Yang watched as Raven looked away from her, eyes still glowing a hot red color, if a little dulled.

"Which would you prefer, Mom?" Yang asked. "Salem could come after you. Or, she could come after me. And I'll be standing there, waiting for her."

"Yang…" Raven sighed. "You...you don't want to do this."

Yang wasn't sure if it was Raven's suppressed maternal instincts, or just her overall belief that the world was a terrible place, but for the moment, Yang believed her mother's warning.

But believing a warning is much different from acting on it.

"No." Yang said, walking forwards to face her mother eye-to-eye. "But I'm going to do it anyway."

_Look me in the eyes, Mom. _Yang thought. _This is what strength looks like. I don't want to do this, and I'm terrified of what's ahead for me and my friends. But this is something that needs to be done, whether I like it or not. _

Yang walked ahead, brushing past her mother. When she enters the relic's vault, she's immediately hit with a breath of fresh, hot air, and the earthy smell of sand. Even in this place far underground, there was a pure sense of the relic's nature. Of its power, how it felt as infinite as the sands before her.

"I…" Raven choked. "I'm...I'm sorry."

And again, Yang believed her.

Tears formed in Yang's eyes, but she only felt one fall down her cheek. "Yeah," Yang sighed. "Me, too." There was nothing Yang could do to change they way her mother was now. But maybe today was a good start.

There was a small shift in the room, and when Yang looked behind her, her mother was gone. All that was left was a lone, black feather.

_Figures. _Yang thought, turning back towards the sands. _Not that I really expected her to stay, though. _But Yang couldn't deny that she still felt disappointed, somewhat.

The air was hot and dry, and smelled like old books as she walked out towards the sands. There was a lone, golden pedestal standing before the dunes. As Yang approached it, the sands beneath her feet seemed to float upwards, instead of shifting outwards. As she got closer, Yang saw the relic in a clearer view.

Before her was the Relic of Knowledge, which had been kept at Haven Academy's Vault for who-knows how long. It was a very old, very grand blue and golden lamp. Yang wrapped her flesh hand around it, and lifted it quickly, expecting some sort of trap to attack her. But it was as cold and light as the antique kerosene lamps her father used to keep in the shed back on Patch.

_Please don't drop a rock on me, please don't drop a rock on me. _Yang thought as she gingerly held the lamp by the handle.

Nothing came for her.

_Okay...a little anticlimactic. _Yang thought. _Not that I'm complaining, though! _

She'd done it! Yang had retrieved the relic at Haven, and now she could take it back to her friends back at the school...

She _should_ have felt more victorious, proud that she and her team were able to make it this far. Instead, all she felt was slight relief, and a growing sense of unease. Relief that she had not let the relic fall into the wrong hands, but also uneasy because of the underwhelming moment.

_This_ is what all the previous fighting had led up to: a lamp.

A mysterious, _very_ powerful lamp, but a lamp nonetheless.

_This is what we've been fighting each other for? _Yang thought. _A stupid lamp?! _

The tears couldn't be stopped, but Yang felt like she'd earned more than enough reasons to cry.

* * *

**-Weiss- **

They were all out of breath, except for the big man. As long as he had his crystals in his arm, he was unstoppable.

_How are we going to wear him down if he just keeps stabbing himself with endless energy? _

Ruby, her weapon locked in it's scythe form, was still engaged and ready for attack. Her back arched, her knees bent, and to Weiss, it looked like she was ready to dodge any attack that came her way. She was breathing slowly, Weiss noticed too, as if Ruby was concentrating on what was going on in the room.

"Just give up." Ruby said, turning her head to the side. "_Stop_ fighting."

_Always the negotiator_, Weiss thought of her friend, her partner. _Still trying to see the good in people. Or, at least rip it out of them. _

Mercury pounded the floor in frustration, breathing heavily in anger.

Emerald gripped her weapons, shouting, "It's not over! Cinder will come back with the relic, and when she does she'll destroy _all_ of you!" She sounded very desperate like she was trying to convince herself more than them.

A whirring sound diverted everyone's attention, and Weiss felt her heartbeat speed up. Who would emerge from the Vault? Cinder, or Yang?

_Please don't be Cinder, Please, PLEASE don't be Cinder. _

A wild mop of bright yellow hair was the first thing Weiss saw emerge from the vault.

Yang stood on the rising platform, alone, holding a glowing blue and golden lamp in her remaining hand. A look of tired triumph was set in her eyes.

Weiss could help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Yang," Qrow said, saying the name that was on the tip of everyone's tongue.

A clattering thud caused Weiss to look back, only to see Emerald on her hands and knees, breathing in a way that portrayed her instability.

Mercury and the large man started backing up very slowly. "Emerald," the silver-haired boy said in a warning tone. "Emerald, get up. We need to go, now!"

Emerald rose to sit on her knees, and threw her head back in a blood-curdling scream.

Immediately the lights flickered on and off, and the room began to fill with smokey shadows. The clouds collected in the center of the hall, pooling together to form a ghostly figure.

A large, pale woman dressed in black cloth emerged from the darkness. The veins along her arms and hands pulsated with poisonous red light.

To Weiss, the woman reminded her of the ghost stories she used to read in the manor's library, back before her father told her fictional stories were immature and unbefitting to an heiress.

At the mere flicker of memory of her father, all the fear Weiss ever felt towards him immediately came flooding back.

_Being confined to the manor, separated from children her own age. _

_Fearing for herself and her family when her father came from bad company meetings. _

_Hearing him scream about the Faunus over dinner, hearing her parents argue with each other while she was supposed to be sleeping._

_Catching her mother crying in the library, two bottles into a binge, sobbing and crying and cursing the day she married Jaques Schnee. _

The ghostly woman screamed, her mouth opening a staggering amount, and she swept through them, bringing a sense of pure terror that made Weiss only want to run away and hide. Yet her legs wouldn't move. It was as if all of her muscles were frozen in place, cold and static and numb.

Then there was pitch-black darkness, followed by a feeling painful, heart-wrenching death.

Every nightmare Weiss had ever had, even if she had forgotten about it, came flooding back into the forefront of her mind, and it took everything she had not to throw up from the stress of it all.

In those few seconds, Weiss was six years old again.

And just like when she saw her parents argue and fight, Weiss shut her eyes to stop the terrors from coming.

* * *

**-Blake- **

When Blake opened her eyes again, she felt her hands trembling so much that she had difficulty holding on to Gambol. She raised her eyes, only to find Ruby staring off into an empty space, eyes practically glowing a milky gray color.

"Wha-What was that?" Blake choked out, feeling breathless. She wasn't really sure if anyone would be able to answer her, and honestly, she didn't really want to know. But the curious part of her just had to ask.

"An illusion." Yang's uncle-Qrow-said as he got up to his feet. "An Illusion, but an accurate one. _That_ was Salem."

"Um…" Ruby interjected, "yeah, I didn't see _that_, but based on the feeling of absolute terror I just had, I'll take your word for it."

Blake started at Ruby again, getting a full grasp of the fresh scars running straight across her eyes, almost like someone drew a jagged line over the top half of her face. It was healing, but it would no doubt always be there, in plain view to everyone but Ruby.

_That's...gonna take some getting used to. _Blake thought.

Blake heard footsteps, and when she turned around, saw her parents running up to her. Sun wasn't far behind. Her father swept Blake and her mother into his arms, and Blake couldn't help the swelling sense of relief and gratefulness to have them back in her life. They broke apart, and Blake's mother grabbed her hands. "The police rounded up the remaining White Fang members. Haven is safe."

"Unfortunately, Adam's escaped." Her father said.

"It's okay." Illia said, walking up to them from the broken wall of the school. "He's the _only_ one who ran away tonight. And the White Fang won't support a leader who abandons his people." Ilia looked towards the woods as she said, "Adam won't have anyone to help him after this. The White Fang will be divided."

Blake's father hummed in acknowledgement. "I think it's time we started a new brotherhood for the Faunus." He said. "A new family that will make all feel welcome."

"They're going to need a new leader." Blake's mom said, placing her hand around her father's belt.

Suddenly, Blake felt something strong and hairy wrapped around her waist, and pulled her from behind. Blake found herself stumbling for balance a little. When she looked up, Sun was giving her a 'shoo-shoo' gesture. Towards the three girls in the center of the destroyed room.

When Blake looked ahead, she saw her friends. Jaune, Ren and Nora were gathered around Weiss and Ruby. Yang was talking to her uncle, handing him a very big, _very_ fancy lamp. And Blake couldn't help but notice how sad and tired Yang looked..

Blake was just taking a few steps forward, when suddenly, Ruby collapsed onto her hands and knees, and Blake found herself running ahead instead.

Weiss had managed to catch Ruby enough to keep her from face-planting. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Ruby laughed a little. "Shouldn't I be asking you guys that?"

Tentatively, Blake steeped forwards, trying to keep her breathing calm and even. Still, her heart raced, not completely sure on what her team's reaction to her return will be.

_I can't really blame them if they're angry with me. _

Her fears were confirmed when Yang knelt down beside Ruby, and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. She fixed Blake with a blank expression, but her silence spoke volumes.

Ruby sniffed the air, and said, "So, Blake, what're you doing here." Blake's heart lurched at the mere fact that Ruby was looking _through _her when she spoke to Blake. Nevertheless, Blake forced herself to look at Ruby's scarred face, the eyes that were a pale sheen of grey. And even though Blake knew that there was probably nothing she could have changed had she been with Ruby during whatever accident or attack that cost her her eyes, a tiny voice inside her couldn't be ignored and taunted her.

_Your fault, your fault, you're at fault. _

"I…" Blake was at a loss for words, not that she'd ever been chatty to begin with. "I was...going to ask you guys the same thing."

Ruby chuckled. "That's gonna be a looooong story."

Blake smiled, even though she knew her friend wouldn't be able to see it. "Well...I'm not going anywhere." Blake said.

"Well...that's all that matters, right?" Ruby said. "That we're all here together."

Blake found herself looking at Yang, because she was the deciding factor whether Blake would stay or not. _If me being here will cause Yang more harm than good, then...I'll go. But I won't leave them to fight this thing alone_.

And then she remembered Sun's words. _Everyone needs a little help sometimes. And it looks like there are a few who could use yours. _

_No, I won't leave them again. I'll never run away from my problems again. I've done that too much. _

Yang smiled at Blake, and nodded, "Yeah." Weiss beamed-well, as much as Weiss could beam- and opened her free arm up for a hug.

Blake knelt down and hugged her friends, a real Team RWBY group hug, something they hadn't done since Beacon.

_This is my team. _Blake thought. _My second family. I'm not leaving them again, no matter what._

_I promise._

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

"_**The world breaks everyone, and afterwards, some are strong at the broken places." **_

_**-Ernest Hemmingway**_

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_

_**Hey guys. I know it's been a long time. I'm back at school, working hard every day, but...to be honest I've been struggling lately, in more ways than one. My family member is now terminal stage, and has been taken off of chemo...it's been hard trying to accept that. Not to mention that the pandemic has been taking its toll on me mentally. **_

_**Everyday is different for me. Some days I'm alright, and other days it's like I'm in survival mode 24/7. It's been hard juggling the piling up schoolwork, along with all these other things. But I'm trying, and that counts for something. I have a great support system that's willing to help me whenever I need them, and even if I just need to talk to someone. **_

_**I don't mean to dump all of this onto your guys, but I just felt like I owed you an answer as to why I haven't been updating as much. **_

_**Thank you for all those who have been following this story, and for all of you who have messaged me. **_

_**Until next time! **_

_**-thrillerartist **_


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